Event description
In 1922, the founding of the Institut du radium de Montréal was greeted with huge enthusiasm. As Quebec’s first university research centre, the Institut was a sign the province had joined the great march of Western scientific progress. At the time, radium was seen as a crucial discovery that would revolutionize the future. In medicine, it was hoped that radium would lead to the development of an effective treatment for the terrible disease of cancer. Unfortunately, the Institut du radium failed to live up to its initial promises and, in 1967, quietly closed its doors.
To present this history in a dynamic way, we have decided to borrow the codes of tragedy. The exhibition is thus divided into three acts. A chorus comments on the unfolding story, guiding you from one section to the next. Throughout the exhibition, you will find imagined dialogues, created from archival material.
In approaching this story from a tragic angle, we are not suggesting that the Institut du radium’s demise was inevitable. Rather, we invite you to feel the tension that runs through its history, between high hopes and heavy burdens. Tragedy helps bring the characters in this story to life, revealing their ambitions and conflicts. On a more fundamental level, this choice is a reminder that science does not advance in a vacuum. It emerges and gains momentum or falters in keeping with the social environment, culture, power relations and collective values that either support or hinder it.
The Atelier d’histoire Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
Founded in 1978, the Atelier d’histoire Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has worked for close to 50 years to protect, promote and transmit the history and heritage of the neighbourhoods in this Montréal borough. The Atelier offers lectures and guided tours, produces a podcast and publishes its research online. Its work is based on rigorous, well-documented analyses and a desire to share knowledge and ideas with the general public and all who are passionate about history.