History
Founded in 1975 as the Musée d’archéologie de l’Est du Québec, the Musée du Bas-Saint-Laurent (MBSL) was renamed the Centre d'animation et de diffusion culturelles du Bas-St-Laurent in 1978. From then on, the MBSL embraced a new mission focused on education and outreach, developing an important niche in photography and ethnology. In the 1980s, the MBSL became a significant actor in contemporary art in Quebec. It officially adopted its current name in 2006.
Over the years, the MBSL’s commitment to modern art and ethnology has evolved into a broad expertise of these spheres of activity. Bolstered by its achievements and dedicated to serving the region's residents and visitors alike, the MBSL fulfils its twofold mission as a major museological institution.
Mission
The MBSL’s mission is articulated around conservation, research, outreach and education. Its main fields of interests are Quebec contemporary art, ethnographic photography of Eastern Quebec and art in the Lower St. Lawrence region of Quebec. The MBSL focuses on the region's residents and visitors, while also touring its original museological productions further afield.
Vision and mandate
The MBSL is an inclusive place of discovery and learning. Through various actions both on and beyond its premises, the MBSL aims to make its exhibitions, activities and collections accessible to as many people as possible. Over the past few years, the MBSL has proposed unusual events while also continuing to produce the rigorous and profound content it particularly values.
The MBSL's goals for conservation and research stem directly from its mission: to ensure the sustainability and the documentation of its major collection of art by influential Quebec contemporary artists and to build upon its significant collection of photographic archival fonds for Eastern Quebec
