Vernissage | BACK RIVER

On November 23, join us for the public vernissage of BACK RIVER by Montreal-based artist Sonia Bazar. The latest exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, BACK RIVER weaves together themes of loss, memory, community, and urban landscapes, contemplating what is forgotten, and how it can be remembered.

Centred upon the Back River Cemetery – one of Montreal’s oldest Jewish cemeteries, located in Ahuntsic – this multidisciplinary body of work explores the burial ground’s peculiar and enigmatic place in our city’s landscape. Bazar’s work ruminates on the challenges of solving the puzzle surrounding the cemetery’s founding, evolution, and near-abandonment. With the artist’s own family members buried at the Back River, piecing together knowledge of this space becomes an act of personal archiving and placemaking. However, absence and scarcity of information about the Back River Cemetery remain a core part of its story and the memory of its occupants.Through research-creation using archival sources and oral histories, Bazar invites us to become part of the cemetery’s contemporary archive as she reimagines its 140-year history through photography, installation, and sculptural work.

Opening remarks by the curator and the artist will take place at 8:00pm.

Kindly note that pre-registration is required for all who wish to attend. Click here to register in advance.

A bar (payable by card only) will be open with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage options. Complimentary refreshments provided by Violet Bakehouse will also be available.

ACCESSIBILITY: Please note that the Museum of Jewish Montreal is currently not accessible to visitors with limited mobility. This exhibition takes place on the second and third floors of our building, accessible by staircase. Our ground floor entrance is accessible by ramp. 

Sonia Bazar and the Museum of Jewish Montreal would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.