An Interview with McGill’s Visual Arts Collection

By Iris Bednarski

Photos courtesy of McGill’s VAC

Nestled in the fourth floor of the McLennan Library, down a hallway marked by vibrant oil paintings, you will find the headquarters of McGill’s Visual Arts Collection (VAC). The VAC is responsible for the management of nearly 3500 works of art, spread across four campuses in more than ninety buildings. Under the direction of Gwendolyn “Wendy” Owens, the VAC employs a diverse team of professionals and student interns to oversee the preservation and promotion of these artworks at McGill. Home to a rich array of visual and archival resources, the collection also provides a wealth of opportunities for Art History and Communication students on campus. Last month, I met with some of the team to learn more about what the VAC has to offer.  

Sophie Becquet taking a portrait photograph of Director Gwendolyn Owens in the Visible Storage Gallery on the fourth floor of the McLennan Library

“Essentially our mandate is to provide an art collection that is accessible to our university community,” explains Dr. Michelle Macleod, Curator of the VAC. “More recently, the art collection has been mobilized and activated to make people feel welcome in public spaces on campus. It gives a more humanistic approach to spaces that can be overwhelming and new to people.”

As a curator, Dr. Macleod is responsible for coordinating research on and projects for the collection. Her role also focuses on public outreach, a key component to maximizing community engagement with the VAC.

“It’s a lot to come to a big place like this, so if we can provide moments where you recognize yourself or your community or something that just resonates with you, that’s our job when we think about public art on campus.”

Dr. Macleod giving a tour of the New York City Alumni Lobby on the third floor of New Chancellor Day Hall

Indeed, the VAC’s collection spans across McGill’s built and natural environment, ready for human encounter at any moment. Some pieces, student intern Julia Widing notes, are so iconic they often get taken for granted.

Sophie Becquet, Hugo Barsacq-Camard, and Julia Widing preparing the “BEAD PAINT CARVE” exhibition in the McLennan Library lobby

Artwork credit: Alashua Aningmiuq, “Quintet,” 1967, stone-cut print, 59 x 81 cm. McGill Visual Arts Collection, 1997-029. Gift of the McGill class of 1941 to mark 25th anniversary graduation.

“McGill students might not know about the breadth of our collection…Even just looking at and walking through the Roddick gates, you’re encountering one of our artworks. There’s just so much that we do and that we’re responsible for around campus that people interact with every day.”

Julia, an Honours Art History student, started working at the VAC this past summer. In her role as a student assistant, she has done everything from collections management to helping out Director Wendy with grant writing. As Hugo Barsacq-Camard, an Anthropology student and fellow intern explains: “We really have free range to work on almost anything at the VAC, so you’re never left in the dark and everything you work on has that context in mind.”  

Hugo, who has worked in the collection for two years, remarks upon how his internship at the VAC has helped him both within and without his academic pursuits.

“When I started, I remember I was really quiet and overwhelmed…And somewhere along the line as we went through different events, acquisitions, invented new procedures and I met different interns, I guess I started to live side by side with the collection. Because it’s such a small group of people you get really comfortable and close with everyone and ultimately you learn some really good people skills.”

This sentiment is reiterated by another intern, Sophie Becquet, studying Honours Art History and Anthropology with a focus on photography. Sophie, who currently manages the VAC’s social media output, describes specifically the value of working on a team of established experts in the field.

“Having professionals to look up to, I feel like you actually get to see what it’s like to work in the field, which confirms that I want to stay in something related to Art History.”

One of these mentors is Jessica Régimbald, who serves as the Collections Manager for the VAC. In her role as Collections Manager, Jessica is responsible for both the physical management and care of the collection. Physical management comprises standard procedural duties from acquisition reports to condition checks. She expresses that the care of the collection, however, is completed “with the idea that we want to preserve this collection for future generations.”

Though, the collection is already available to current members of the McGill community at large. Jessica explains how the VAC is open to researchers at any stage of their career.

“That’s literally the mandate of the collection, to be used for research. We are very much open and welcoming to anyone on campus interested in studying our collection.”

Jessica Régimbald doing conservation work on a tapestry

Artwork credit: Mariette Rousseau-Vermette, “Vertical Stripes,” 1968, wool tapestry with metal poles, 243 x 213 cm. McGill Visual Arts collection, 1997-029. Gift of the McConnell Family Foundation.

Dr. Macleod adds that external research into the collection is a highlight for VAC employees and interns alike.

“The care and development of the collection definitely keeps us very busy, but any time we get a research inquiry – whether that’s from a McGill student, a museum curator, anyone – we will stop everything to dive into that research rabbit hole with you.”

The artworks and archives that make up the VAC are always available for study upon request. These primary resources offer an indispensable opportunity for Art History and Communications students interested in conducting original research. The physical collection boasts a variety of pieces including, but not limited to North American, European, Asian, and Indigenous art – often complementary to departmental course offerings. Beyond serving as an academic resource, many of these artworks are also on display and available for casual enjoyment, whether you’re looking for a creative space to study, or just need a break. As Dr. Macleod remarks:

Dr. Macleod, Julia Widing, Sophie Becquet, and Hugo Barsacq-Camard after setting up the “BEAD PAINT CARVE” exhibition in the McLennan Library lobby

“I like to think of that as a real privilege that the McGill community has, that we get to encounter these works of fine art on a regular basis. We often talk about how that is by design, but also sort of by happenstance. So, you can encounter something in a hallway that you’ve never seen before, but you can also come to the fourth floor of McLennan and be in a gallery space.”

The VAC’s current exhibition “BEAD PAINT CARVE” is on display now in the McLennan Library Building Lobby. In honour of the 2024 Indigenous Awareness weeks, the three-part exhibition highlights recent scholarship on Indigenous Art.

To learn more about the VAC, visit their website or check out their Instagram.