The Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal was founded by the Québec government in 1964, at the instigation of artists and collectors who wanted to see an institution established to build a collection of contemporary works by artists from Montréal, Québec, Canada and around the world.
The Musée opened to the public in March 1965 in temporary premises at Place Ville-Marie. It was housed at Château Dufresne from 1965 to 1968, when it moved to the Expo 67 Gallery of International Art, at Cité du Havre. In 1983, the museum was made a provincially owned corporation with the following mission: “To make known, promote and preserve contemporary Québec art and to ensure a place for international contemporary art through acquisitions, exhibitions and other cultural activities.”
