Winter-Spring 2026 Programming

From the Olympic Games to Mount Royal Park: Celebrating Montreal

Montreal, January 19, 2026 – The McCord Stewart Museum is pleased to present a program that will delight those looking to learn about the history of Montreal. At the heart of its spring offering is Montreal 1976: An Olympic Feat, a major retrospective devoted to the 1976 Olympic Games. This exhibition is part of the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of this historic event that profoundly transformed the city’s urban landscape and international image. Presented off-site on Mount Royal, a trail illustrated with photographs and archival documents will tell its story and highlight the key moments of this iconic park, designed 150 years ago by Frederick Law Olmsted, the same landscape architect who created Central Park in New York. Among other featured exhibitions is the highly popular On the Menu – Montreal: A Restaurant Story, which traces the evolution of the city’s culinary scene from the 1960s to today, celebrating its diversity and creative talents, past and present.

The Museum, which continues its commitment to cultural accessibility through free admission for under 18s, pay-what-you-can first Sundays of the month, and an advantageous membership program, will also mark Black History Month, Autism Awareness Month, and Asian Heritage Month through a program of community, cultural and educational activities.

→ Coming this spring | → Exhibitions to visit (and revisit)
→ Educational, cultural and community-engagement activities

Coming this spring

• To mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, the Museum presents an unprecedented retrospective on this global event. Through a remarkable selection of documents and objects—including clothing, archives, posters, cartoons, photographs and artifacts—Montreal 1976: An OIympic Feat revisits the many facets of these Games beyond athletic achievements, and explores the numerous difficulties that marked their organization and their urban and architectural legacy. March 27 to September 7, 2026
• The outdoor exhibition presented on Mount Royal traces the history, uses and transformations of Mount Royal Park through the the McCord Stewart Museum’s Photography collection. The exhibition is presented to mark the park’s 150th anniversary thanks to a gift from Power Corporation of Canada, in partnership with the City of Montreal and in collaboration with Amis de la Montagne. Starting May 17, 2026, on Park Avenue near the Sir George-Étienne Cartier monument and near the Beaver Lake Pavilion

Discover the exhibitions

Exhibitions to visit (and revisit)

• LAST CHANCE: Presented exclusively in Canada at the McCord Stewart Museum as part of its international tour (London, Brooklyn, Portland, Melbourne, Chicago and soon Paris), Africa Fashion—one of the largest exhibitions ever devoted to the subject—conceived by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, is an invitation to immerse yourself in the creativity of designers from the African continent and discover how fashion has become a powerful vehicle for self-affirmation in the postcolonial era and for influence on the international stage. Until February 1, 2026
• Conceived by guest curator Nadia Bunyan, the exhibition Aunties’ Work: The Power of care, presented by Power Corporation of Canada, Premier Partner – Montreal Stories, explores and pays tribute to the support systems established by matriarchs of Montreal’s Black communities. Through the presentation of their clothing and material culture, alongside narratives and testimonies, it illustrates how Aunties anchored and united their communities while offering spaces for reflection, imagination and creation. Until April 12, 2026
• On the Menu – Montréal: A Restaurant Story, presented by the OVI Fund – Ionescu Family Foundation, and realized with the support of Lightspeed (Innovation Partner), the Institut de tourisme et d’hôtellerie du Québec – ITHQ (Institutional Partner), and Power Corporation of Canada (Premier Partner – Montreal Stories), invites the public to discover the evolution of Montreal’s restaurant scene, in all its forms, since the 1960s. From popular delis to fine dining, it reveals how a part of the city’s identity has been forged around the table. Until October 18, 2026
• The permanent exhibition Indigenous Voices of Today: Knowledge, Trauma, Resilience gives voice to members of Quebec’s 11 Indigenous nations and bears witness to the still too little-known knowledge of Indigenous peoples, as well as their deep wounds and incredible resilience. Official Broadcaster: Radio-Canada

Educational, cultural and community‑engagement activities