Montreal Museum of Fine Arts restages its design collection

There’s no denying Montreal’s growing influence on contemporary design. The Quebecois metropolis is home to a thriving scene of independent talents and boutique producers making the most of relatively affordable living costs. Practices including Studio Kiff and Éditions 8888, and companies such as Lambert & Fils, have shown themselves to be as bold as they are resourceful.

Featured in AN Interior’s Fall/Winter 2025 issue, Montreal-based designer Lauren Goodman often finds clever ways to implement upcycled materials sourced from local waste streams. Appropriate for this part of the world, broken lobster traps have been her main medium lately.

Undoubtedly, this sentiment of experimentation and irreverent expression carries over to the city’s ever-impactful crop of architects. One has only to look at recent projects by firms like Atelier Zébulon Perron, Atelier Barda, and _naturehumaine. The city’s designers work not only the private sector but also the public space, so it comes as no surprise that Montreal holds a UNESCO Design City designation.

Forming a new historical backdrop for this ever-expanding movement is the recently re-opened Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) design and decorative arts collection—the third largest in North America. Three years in the making, the comprehensive showcase, comprising just over 800 objects, was carefully restaged by guest curator, noted historian Rachel Gotlieb. Her aim: open up the display to ensure it’s less stuffy, encyclopedic, or didactic; make it more relatable to a general audience; and highlight Canada’s contributions to the canon.

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