ARLIS/NA 54th Annual Conference

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 35

Old Montréal – Origins, Presence, and Resistance
This tour explores the earliest documented presence of people of African descent in Montreal, beginning in the 17th century. Participants will learn about early Black figures and examine the realities of Black people in New France and under British rule. The tour also highlights sites connected to Black labour, resistance, and community formation, revealing how Black history is foundational to the city’s earliest development. Through architecture and place-based storytelling, participants gain a deeper understanding of how Black presence shaped Montreal from its beginnings.

Rito Joseph is the founder and lead tour guide of Black Montreal Experiences, where he brings Montreal’s Afro-descendant history to life through engaging and immersive storytelling. Blending culture, history, art, and music, he guides participants on a journey that uncovers the rich presence, lasting contributions, and demographic evolution of Black communities in the city.

Transportation : not provided.
Meeting point is a short walk from the hotel (9 minutes) at the the corner of McGill and Saint-Jacques streets, near Square-Victoria Metro. 

Important Information:
The tour will be offered in English, however the facilitator also speaks French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

We are happy to announce that tour registration is now open to non-conference participants!
Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 25

Starting from Dorchester Square, formerly Dominion Square, created in the 19th century and later becoming the gateway to downtown, this Heritage Montreal tour, led by an architect specializing in heritage conservation, traces the major stages of the city’s development. It takes visitors from early landmark buildings, such as Windsor Station and the cathédrale-basilique Marie-Reine-du-Monde, to large commercial complexes like the Sun Life and Dominion Square buildings, culminating with the iconic Place Ville Marie, a symbol of modernity. 

Transportation : not provided.
Dorchester square is a short walk (7 minutes) from the hotel. Meet your guide at the fountain in front of 1001 Dorchester Square.

Important Information:
The workshop will be offered in English, however the facilitator also speaks French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 20

Located on McGill University’s downtown campus at the base of Mount Royal, Rare Books and Special Collections (RBSC) is home to McGill's historic humanities and social sciences library collections. RBSC collects a broad range of materials, from manuscript and published works to puppets, and is particularly strong in holdings related to Montreal and Canada, the history of printing, natural history, Enlightenment philosophy, and architecture. Enjoy a curator-led tour of collection highlights, with a special focus on Montreal’s history and built environment through books, photographs, and archives. We will finish the tour with a quick visit to the Book Arts Lab, featuring our refurbished 1821 Columbian printing press.

Spend a little extra time in the Visual Arts Collection’s Visible Storage Gallery before entering the Rare Books & Special Collections reading room on the 4th floor of McLennan Library. You can also expand your visit with a self-guided virtual tour of Indigenous art on public display at McGill. This interactive map highlights Indigenous art across campus from the McGill Visual Arts Collection: https://www.mcgill.ca/vacollection/indigeous-art-public-display-mcgill

McGill University is an English language, public university founded in 1821. Learn more about the university: www.mcgill.ca/about and McGill Libraries: www.mcgill.ca/libraries.

Transportation : not provided. 
Tour guides will meet the group at the hotel and walk together to McGill campus (approximately 20 minutes, walking outdoors, slight incline). Alternatively, participants may wish to share an Uber (approximately 10 minutes).

Destination address:
McLennan Library Building, 4th floor, 3459 McTavish Street, Montreal, H3A 0C9.

Important Information: 
The tour is planned as a walk-through of the Visible Storage Gallery, special collections reading room, classroom, and letterpress lab, located on the 4th floor of the McLennan Library Building. Elevator accessible. Visitors should be prepared for walking and standing during the visit; chairs available on request.

Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

Specimen of printing types and ornaments, in use at the printing office of Lovell & Gibson, Montreal, 1846.

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 30

Guided tour of the Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal Library, including a presentation of their work and a discussion on the issues facing the library. Visit the Musée on your own after the library tour.

Transportation : not provided.
The recommended transportation arrangements are to walk (25 minutes) or coordinate a shared Uber.

Destination addess : Musée des Beaux-arts de Montréal, 1380 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H3G 1J5
Meet your guide in the entrance lobby.

Important Information:
Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 20

Presentation of the Guy L. Coté Media Library, its collection of documents (books, magazines, videos, etc.), as well as the Cinémathèque québecoise's archive collection (photos, posters, drawings, etc.). A brief presentation of the collections, the services offered, and examples of documents will be followed by a tour of the storage areas of both collections.

Transportation : transit pass provided.
The recommended transportation arrangements are to use public transit as a group.

Destination addess : Cinemathèque québécoise, 335 Boul. de Maisonneuve E, Montréal, QC H2X 1K1
Meet your guide in the Cinematheque reception. 

Important Information:
The elevator leading to the library will be out of service for the weeks to come. It is quite possible that it will still be unavailable on the day of the visit. This unfortunately prevents access for wheelchair users. There are a dozen steps.

Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 30

McCord Stewart Museum : Guided Tour of Montreal 1976: An Olympic Feat exhibition and visit to the Archives and Documentation Centre.

Transportation : not provided.
The recommended transportation arrangements are to use public transit from the Hotel (Métro Bonaventure to Métro McGill). 

Destination address : McCord Stewart Museum, 690 Sherbrooke St W, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1E9

Important Information:
Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

We are happy to announce that tour registration is now open to non-conference participants!
Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 35

Sainte-Catherine Street Tour – Entertainment, Performance, and Contemporary Legacy
This tour examines the evolution of Black cultural and social presence in downtown Montreal, focusing on spaces of artistic expression, entrepreneurship, and public life. Participants will explore how Black communities contributed to Montreal’s cultural landscape through music, art, activism, and public engagement. The tour connects historical movements to contemporary realities, highlighting the continued influence of Black creators, thinkers, and community leaders in shaping the city’s identity today. 

Rito Joseph is the founder and lead tour guide of Black Montreal Experiences, where he brings Montreal’s Afro-descendant history to life through engaging and immersive storytelling. Blending culture, history, art, and music, he guides participants on a journey that uncovers the rich presence, lasting contributions, and demographic evolution of Black communities in the city.


Transportation : not provided.
Meeting point at the hotel lobby. 

Important Information:
The tour will be offered in English, however the facilitator also speaks French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec

Cost : $ 20


Join us for a tour at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA)! Founded in 1979, the CCA is an international research institution and museum premised on the belief that architecture is a public concern. Since its founding, the CCA has produced exhibitions, publications, research programs, and public events. We use our extensive collection of archives (both physical and digital), prints, drawings, photographs, and library materials to explore new ideas and conversations around architecture today, thinking about how architecture shapes—and might reshape—contemporary life.


Although the CCA is based in Montréal, we are international in our collecting scope and in our work, sometimes partnering with institutions abroad to better explore global perspectives. Digital tools allow us to share our research and our collection with local and international audiences.


This tour will include an overview of the CCA’s mission, a tour of current exhibitions, a visit to our study room, and a peek into the library’s vaults. Members of the CCA staff will be available to answer questions related to how we provide reference services, our cataloguing policies, and our approach to acquisitions.


Transportation : transit pass provided.

The recommended transportation arrangements are to walk (25 minutes) or use public transit as a group from the Hotel (Métro Bonaventure to Métro George-Vanier). 


Destination addess : Canadian Centre for Architecture, 1920 Baile St, Montreal, Quebec H3H 1R4


Important Information:

Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.

$ All costs are in USD.


#madeinquebec




Photo credit : Tim Klähn

UPDATE: Meet your wrangler on May 7th at 7:45 am in Hotel Bonaventure lobby area (10th floor).  The bus will depart at 8am. 

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 120

The visit to the National Gallery of Canada will start with an introduction to the collections of the library and archives, with an emphasis on rare books, artists’ books and multiples and the archival collections. Participants will then tour of the permanent collections and the exhibition Sylvia Safdie: Terra.

The tour of the Preservation Campus, Library and Archives Canada (LAC) boasts vaults to protect archives from all hazards and laboratories enabling specialists to digitize documents and carry out restoration treatments. During the tour, participants will have the chance to wander through the laboratories and learn how the specialists work everyday to preserve history. In the vaults, they will discover works by Canadian artists.


Tentative schedule : 
8:00am : Departure from Hotel Bonaventure 
10:00am : Arrival at National Gallery 
12:00pm : Lunch on your own
2:30pm : Library and Archives Canada Preservation Center
4:30pm : Departure from Ottawa to return to Hotel Bonaventure
6:30pm : (Approximate) Arrival at Hotel Bonaventure

Transportation : Provided.
A bus will depart from the hotel at 8:00am.

Meals : Not included.

Important Information:
The tour will be offered in English, however guides also speak French.
$ All costs are in USD.

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 25

Currently under development in the heart of UQAM's Central Library, l'Atelier typographique is a Letterpress Workshop, an emerging space dedicated to the preservation, transmission, and contemporary exploration of typographic and relief printing practices. The workshop is being built around an exceptional donation from the Musée de l’imprimerie du Québec, which entrusted UQAM with the stewardship of its historic printing equipment after years without a permanent home.

This working collection includes a cast-iron hand press, cylinder presses, platen presses, and thousands of wood and metal typefaces, ornaments, and printing plates dating from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Some of the equipment is currently undergoing restoration, a process that is integral to the project’s pedagogical mission and to the responsible reactivation of these historic tools. Rather than functioning as a static display, the workshop is conceived as an operational environment where historical materials are progressively brought back into use through teaching, research, and creative practice.

Distinctively, the UQAM Letterpress Workshop is a francophone typographic space—a rare presence in the North American academic landscape. It contributes to sustaining the history of French-language printing in North America while positioning the library as a site of cultural continuity and resistance.

Aligned with UQAM’s broader initiative to transform libraries into spaces of experimentation and interdisciplinary dialogue, the workshop already supports pedagogical projects in graphic design, visual arts, literature, book history, arts history and communication.

In an era shaped by speed and dematerialization, the slow, manual processes of letterpress printing offer a form of resistance—inviting reflection, embodied knowledge, and renewed attention to the material conditions of language and culture.

Transportation : transit pass provided.
The recommended transportation arrangements are to use public transit as a group from the Hotel (Métro Bonaventure to Métro Berri-UQAM). It's possible to access the library directly from the metro level.

Destination addess : UQAM Central Library, 400 Rue Sainte-Catherine E, Montréal, QC H2L 2C5

Important Information:
The workshop will be offered in English, however the facilitator also speaks French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec
Photo credit: Clémence Lesné

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 15

The National Library (in the Rosemont neighbourhood) is the preservation centre for all materials published in Québec since 1764. It is part of BAnQ (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec , loosely translated as the National Library and Archives of Québec, the province’s largest cultural institution. The National Library notably houses specialized collections of artists' books, posters, and prints. This tour is an opportunity for you to learn more about BAnQ’s mission and visit the storage facilities where its most precious published materials are stored. You’ll also view a selection of heritage documents on the theme of “resistance,” reflecting the commitment of Québec artists throughout different eras.

Transportation : not provided. 
The recommended transportation arrangements are to coordinate a shared Uber or to allocate sufficient time for travel via public transit (which involves significant walking).

Destination adress : Bibliothèque nationale (Rosemont), 2275 Rue Holt, Montréal, QC H2G 2M2

Important Information:
Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec


Photo credit: Mikael Theimer

Please note that adding a tour to your Sched itinerary does NOT mean you have registered for the tour. You must register using the tours registration link.

Cost : $ 15

The National Library (in the Rosemont neighbourhood) is the preservation centre for all materials published in Québec since 1764. It is part of BAnQ (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec , loosely translated as the National Library and Archives of Québec, the province’s largest cultural institution. The National Library notably houses specialized collections of artists' books, posters, and prints. This tour is an opportunity for you to learn more about BAnQ’s mission and visit the storage facilities where its most precious published materials are stored. You’ll also view a selection of heritage documents on the theme of “resistance,” reflecting the commitment of Québec artists throughout different eras.

Transportation : not provided. 
The recommended transportation arrangements are to coordinate a shared Uber or to allocate sufficient time for travel via public transit (which involves significant walking).

Destination adress : Bibliothèque nationale (Rosemont), 2275 Rue Holt, Montréal, QC H2G 2M2

Important Information:
Tours will be offered in English, and guides will be pleased to answer questions in French.
$ All costs are in USD.

#madeinquebec



Photo credit: Mikael Theimer