Discover the different facets of the museology technician, Véronique Thiffault’s profession at the Musée des métiers d’arts du Québec. You will also learn more about the museum exhibitions.
[TEXT ON SCREEN: “MUSEOLOGY TECHNICIAN.”]
Véronique: “Working here makes me want to take a blacksmithing or weaving course. For sure, it inspires me a lot.”
[Wearing white gloves, Véronique pushes a cart through the museum reserve.]
[TEXT ON SCREEN: “Véronique Thiffault. Museology Technician.”]
[Véronique is sitting in front of the camera. She has shoulder-length, brown hair. She is wearing a dark blue plaid shirt.]
Véronique: “The Musée des Métiers d’Art du Québec has two separate buildings. My work takes place in both, at the reserve where we are currently, if not at the museum which is located in Ville Saint-Laurent. This is where I set up the temporary exhibitions and I take care of the maintenance of the permanent collection.”
[The reserve is located in a modern building. Part of the building is completely glazed. A wooden walkway lined with shrubs leads to the building. The MUMAQ is located in a church. A MUMAQ poster is placed at the top of the large wooden door. A man opens the door and enters the museum. In front of the museum, a sign reads: “Musée des Maîtres et Artisans du Québec.”]
Véronique: “When I arrive at the reserve, a typical day is when the curator will work with me and she will suggest specific projects.”
[Véronique takes a textile work out of a drawer and places it delicately on a cart. With a screwdriver, she builds a white box. She stores the fabric work in it. Then she writes on the lid of the closed box.]
Véronique: “I have to build packing boxes, make condition reports. That’s what I call the office work. Always starting with the objects, we may have to move things in the reserve. In fact, I follow the curator’s instructions.”
[Véronique is seated facing the camera.]
Véronique: “A typical day at the museum, I arrive with my tools, my boots,and then I pull out my hammer. I have to build things.Often, plinths, showcases, walls… Set up an exhibition. So it’s a lot more physical.”
[Wearing blue latex gloves and goggles, Veronique is holding a tape measure and a pencil. Next, she fixes a textile work in a frame.]
Véronique: “The upcoming permanent exhibition at the museum is going to be there for at least the next ten years. We made a big change at the museum, both in the scenography of the space and in the renewal of the objects.”
[At the museum, the works of art are exhibited on displays arranged in the nave of the church. A loveseat and a rocking chair are presented on pedestals. Daylight streams through the stained glass windows that overlook the nave.]
Véronique: “Snowshoes and the rest, it is nice, is beautiful, but there is still a lot of artists in contemporary crafts that we want to showcase here at the museum.”
[On a museum wall, the title of an explanatory text reads: “2000 to the present day. The new millennium.”]
[Véronique turns the handle of a shelf in the storeroom. The sliding door opens.]
Véronique: “I also have an artistic practice and my artistic practice is focused on traditional mediums. So, working here, I find it really interesting because I see objects from Quebec traditions every day. Whether in textiles, feminine arts… It’s something that appeals to me a lot because I advocate tradition in art.”
[Colorful quilts are displayed in front of a wall. A glass work represents a sphere surrounded by small hands. Vases have abstract shapes.]
Véronique: “And to see that there is a contemporary aspect that mixes with that, I find that really interesting for artists who still make things with their hands today. Today, when we think about digital, conceptual art, and all that, well, I’m happy that here, at the museum, we still offer a place to artisans, because there are still a lot of artisans.”
[Sitting in front of the camera, Véronique smiles.]
[TEXT ON SCREEN: “MUMAQ. MUSEUM OF QUEBEC CRAFTS.”]
