Montreal, March 13, 2025 – The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and the Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) are pleased to announce the winner of the 2025 Impressions Residency: Lynn Kodeih. Each year, this eight-week residency opens the door to a visual artist from one of Montreal’s cultural communities to carry out a research-creation project at the Museum by bringing a unique and original perspective to one of its collections.
For her residency at the MMFA, Lebanese-Canadian artist Lynn Kodeih plans to explore the MMFA’s collection of Mediterranean art as part of a research project on mourning rituals in the Levant. She will examine some of the Museum’s funerary objects from the Mediterranean basin, ranging from sarcophagi to small vessels. By studying their historical significance and symbolic value, her aim is to restore these objects to their original ceremonial function while reflecting on their relationship with the world of today.
“Congratulations to Lynn Kodeih, the laureate of this year’s Impressions Residency! Lynn is a passionate artist whose work focuses on the politics of the image and notions of space, borders, wandering and belonging in our complex world,” said Nathalie Maillé, Executive Director of the Conseil des arts de Montréal. “Through her artistic approach and critical reflections, she proposes a fresh and essential perspective. Thanks to our partnership with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, her work will undoubtedly inspire and enrich our artistic community.”
“We are delighted to welcome Lynn Kodeih as part of this research-creation residency at the MMFA,” added Mary-Dailey Desmarais, Chief Curator of the MMFA. “Her vision, like that of the 11 artists who preceded her, opens up new ways of looking at the works in our collection. Her unique sensibility and keen interest in issues related to the preservation and interpretation of cultural heritage encourage us to reflect on the role of museums and the construction of our collective narratives.”
On Wednesday 17 September at 6 p.m., Lynn Kodeih will be in conversation with Laura Vigo, Curator of Asian Art at the MMFA, to discuss her practice and her research-creation project at the Museum. Free admission.
About Lynn Kodeih
Born in Beirut, Lynn Kodeih has lived in Montreal since 2020. She is interested in the politics of the image as well as in notions of space, borders and belonging in a colonial and post-colonial world. In her artistic practice, she combines photography, video and installation. She explores erasure and dismantlement, making issues of power dynamics and systemic violence visible, particularly in relation to dispossession.
Winner of the Prix Powerhouse 2024 and the Claudine and Stephen Bronfman Fellowship in Contemporary Art 2024, Lynn Kodeih holds a master’s degree in visual and media arts from UQAM, as well as a master’s in theatre and performance from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. Her work has been presented in Canada and internationally, notably at the Galerie de l’UQAM, the SAW Centre in Ottawa, the Kunstbanken Performance Festival in Hamar, Norway, the International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Transart Triennial in Berlin and the Beirut Art Center.
About the Impressions Residency
Since its launch in 2013, this residency has been a springboard for several emerging artists, including Karen Tam, Naghmeh Sharifi, Pansee Atta, Ari Bayuaji, Jobena Petonoquot, Leila Zelli, Nayla Dabaji, Ahreum Lee, Anahita Norouzi, Jinjoo Yang, and Santiago Tamayo Soler. Thanks to the support of the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Lynn Kodeih will receive a grant of $9,000, which will enable her to carry out research at the MMFA that will nourish the creation of works of arts.
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Patricia Lachance
Michèle-Andrée Lanoue
Media Relations and Institutional Communications Officers
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
presse@mbamtl.org
