Through Tragedy We Transform

In 2016, as part of a University initiative to assess the historical relationship between McGill and the Great War, the Visual Arts Collection decided to look at the way in which the First World War transformed the institution’s physical spaces on both the Downtown and MacDonald campuses. The results of this investigation were presented between 2016 and 2017 in Through Tragedy We Transform: The Metamorphosis of the McGill University Campus in the Aftermath of the Great War (1914-1918), a multi-panel display that addressed the monuments and artworks created in that context: commemorative architecture, stained glass windows, paintings, and more. The exhibit, which took place in the lobby of the James Administration Building, told a poignant story of remembrance, creativity, and growth. Click here to read the curator’s account of the exhibit on the Visual Arts Collection’s section of the Library Matters blog.

View of the display through glass windows

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