The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change and Member of Parliament for Laurier-Sainte-Marie, Luc Rabouin, Borough Mayor of Plateau-Mont-Royal, and Allen Alexandre, Executive Director of the Montreal Afro-Canadian Cultural Centre (CCAM), announce an investment of nearly $16 million from the federal government to finance a renovation and expansion project that will convert the former École des beaux-arts de Montréal into a cultural building for the benefit of the city's Black communities. Starting in 2026, this project will welcome the CCAM, which will continue to enrich the city's cultural diversity and contribute to its dynamic social fabric.
This investment will enable the CCAM to pursue its mission of becoming a focal point and gathering place for the city's Black communities, as well as a space for intercultural exchange for the general public in Montreal, Quebec and Canada. Indeed, the partnership model developed by the CCAM represents an innovative initiative within Canada's Black communities, fostering the sustainability of these communities' cultural and artistic institutions, the strengthening of ties between various economic and social players within these communities, and the long-term growth of the local social economy.
In addition to providing residents with a new venue to showcase art and culture, today's funding will help bring a historic Montreal building back to life in an eco-responsible way, thanks to the Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program (BCVI).
Photo: Kevin Calixte
Historical overview of the École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (ÉBAM)
1922 | The École des Beaux-Arts de Montréal (ÉBAM) was founded on March 8, 1922, under the jurisdiction of the Ministère de l'Éducation, on the initiative of Athanase David, Secretary of the Province of Quebec.
1923 | ÉBAM opened its doors, under the direction ofEmmanuel Fougerat, artist-painter and director-organizer of the École des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, offering an education focused primarily on the decorative and applied arts, training painters, sculptors, decorators, draftsmen and art teachers. ÉBAM, in collaboration with McGill University, also offers a graduate program in architecture, previously offered at École polytechnique.
1945-1948 | ÉBAM saw the Emerging of notable students such as Paul-Émile Borduas and Jean-Paul Lemieux, who challenged the academicism of the teaching and promoted abstract art. Two important manifestos, Prisme d'yeux and Refus global, published in 1948, mark this demand and open the door to contemporary art and international movements.
1954 | Faced with growing enrolment, the government acquired an adjacent school building to house the ÉBAM, while the School of Architecture remained in the original building, becoming an autonomous institution.
1957 - 1961 | ÉBAM experienced its golden age, with its Saturday classes becoming practical training courses for art education students, reflecting changing modes of artistic expression and growing awareness of the artist's social role.
1961 - 1964 | ÉBAM was placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministère de la Jeunesse, then, in 1964, under the Direction générale de l'enseignement supérieur of the Ministère de l'Éducation.
1964 - 1968 | ÉBAM became part of the Université de Montréal, then merged with the Institut d'urbanisme in 1968 to create the Faculté de l'aménagement.
1968 - 1969 | During this pivotal year for higher education in France and Quebec, ÉBAM was occupied for six weeks by its students, who challenged the authority in place and denounced the teaching as too academic. This movement led to the closure of ÉBAM in 1969, which was subsequently integrated as a component of the Université du Québec à Montréal.
1989 - 2009 | The building is occupied by the Maison du Conseil des arts de Montréal. Since then, the building has been vacant.
Related links
Green and inclusive community buildings
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/gicb-bcvi/index-fra.html
Enhanced climate plan
https://www.canada.ca/fr/services/environnement/meteo/changementsclimatiques/plan-climatique/survol-plan-climatique.html
Federal infrastructure investments in Quebec
https://www.infrastructure.gc.ca/plan/prog-proj-qc-fra.html
Initiatives Supporting Black Communities
https://www.canada.ca/fr/emploi-developpement-social/programmes/partenariats-developpement-social/appuyer-communautes-noires/initiative-appuyer-communautes-noires.html
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Contacts
For further information (media only), please contact :
Micaal Ahmed
Manager, Communications
Office of the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
343-598-3920
micaal.ahmed@infc.gc.ca
Alisson Lévesque
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities
alisson.levesque@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
Media Relations
Infrastructure Canada
613-960-9251
Toll-free: 1-877-250-7154
Email us at media-medias@infc.gc.ca
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Website: Infrastructure Canada
Élodie Brandt
Media Relations Officer
Montreal Afro-Canadian Cultural Centre
438-864-3143
E-mail: elodie.brandt@citoyen.com