Courtesy Marc Garneau
Marc Garneau, La nuit je brûle, 2023, related to Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke’s new exhibition

By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

Sherbrooke’s three downtown museums are raising concerns over recent budgetary decisions that threaten their financial stability and limit public access to culture. The Musée d’histoire de Sherbrooke (Mhist), the Musée des beaux-arts de Sherbrooke (MBAS), and the Musée de la nature et des sciences de Sherbrooke (MNS2) say recent cuts to cultural and educational funding have left them struggling to maintain services.

David Lacoste, director general of Mhist, described the situation as a growing crisis, pointing to multiple funding reductions that are putting pressure on the museums. “The final straw was the reform of the free first Sunday of the month program,” he said in a Jan. 30 interview. “Since 2018, all Quebec residents could visit participating museums for free on the first Sunday of the month, and the government reimbursed us for the lost revenue. Now, with the changes, only Quebec residents under 20 years old qualify. That means a loss of revenue, but more importantly, it restricts access to culture.”

Lacoste worries that this reform, combined with other cuts, will deter people from visiting museums altogether. “People who used to come for free now have to decide if they want to spend their money on a museum visit or put it toward food or rent,” he said. “This directly impacts cultural access for people of all income levels.”

In addition to the program changes, the museums are facing broader financial uncertainty. Lacoste noted that Sherbrooke’s school board has frozen funding for cultural field trips, reducing the number of student visits to local museums. “That’s another loss of revenue for us,” he said. “We also lost funding for francisation programs, which used to bring groups to our museum.”

These concerns were echoed in a joint press release issued by the three museums, where Alex Martin, director general of MNS2, highlighted the broader financial picture. “The bad news keeps coming. We’re facing a freeze on school field trips, drastic changes to the free Sundays program, and uncertainty around the next round of museum funding,” Martin stated. “It’s disappointing for the community, which is losing direct access to cultural programming.”

Maude Charland-Lallier, director general and chief curator at MBAS, emphasized in the release the impact of these cuts on future generations. “School field trips are often a child’s first introduction to a museum. The free Sundays ensured that anyone, regardless of income, could access cultural spaces. These cuts threaten the universality of cultural access and risk deepening social inequalities,” she said.

The museums are also concerned about their long-term financial sustainability. “We’ve seen museums across the province struggle,” Lacoste said, pointing to recent layoffs at the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City and the temporary closure of the Musée régional de Rimouski due to financial difficulties. “Museums are already underfunded, and these cuts only make things worse.”

Despite these challenges, Sherbrooke’s museums remain committed to their programming. MBAS recently launched a new exhibition, Lignes de feu, featuring artists André Fournelle and Marc Garneau. The exhibit, which opened on Jan. 30 and runs until Apr. 20, explores themes of transformation using ash, charcoal, and glass. Fournelle, known for his multidisciplinary work, focuses on the raw strength and transmutation of materials, while Garneau’s paintings and engravings highlight internal metamorphosis, using fire’s effects to alter his surfaces.

The MBAS is also continuing Balade en forêt, an immersive exhibition blending traditional landscape art with animated works and olfactory elements, running until Apr. 20. Visitors are encouraged to create their own artistic herbarium as part of the experience, engaging with Quebec’s landscape art tradition in an interactive way.

Alongside these exhibitions, MBAS is offering a special guided tour called De banque à musée!, which takes visitors through the history of the museum’s building, originally constructed in 1876 as the Eastern Townships Bank. The tour grants access to the museum’s original vault while also showcasing its unique Second Empire architectural style and the history behind its transformation into a cultural institution.

Sherbrooke’s museums are not only economic contributors but also cultural pillars of the community. Lacoste stressed that beyond the immediate financial impact, these cuts have long-term implications for cultural identity and access. “The three downtown Sherbrooke museums generate a combined revenue of $4 million annually and support 60 to 70 jobs,” he said. “In the Eastern Townships alone, museums contribute an estimated $35 million in economic benefits. Culture isn’t a luxury—it’s a key part of who we are.”

Lacoste also expressed concerns that the government’s approach contradicts its broader goals of cultural preservation and promotion. “We hear so much about the importance of Quebec identity and heritage, yet museums—arguably some of the strongest cultural institutions—are being financially squeezed,” he said. “The government talks about valuing culture, but we need action to match those words.”

For now, the museums are calling for stronger government support to ensure they can continue their mission. “We don’t want to cut jobs or programming,” Lacoste stressed. “We want to keep making culture accessible to the public. But we need help to do that.”

While the museums continue to advocate for stable funding, they remain committed to their exhibitions and educational initiatives. “We’d rather be talking about our exciting new projects,” Lacoste said. “But we can’t ignore the reality—we need support to keep our doors open and to keep culture thriving in Sherbrooke.”

The museums have also pointed to broader economic and societal benefits of continued investment in culture. Countries like France, which prioritizes heritage tourism, see significant economic benefits from cultural investments, Lacoste noted. “There are countries where cultural tourism is the backbone of the economy. Here, we act as if it’s secondary when in reality, it brings in millions.”

As they push for increased public and government awareness, Sherbrooke’s museums are forging ahead with their planned events, ensuring that despite financial difficulties, their doors remain open to the public.