Embodied Conversations: The Lillian and Billy Mauer Collection

Lillian Mauer is the Founder of Art Speaks, a series of conversations and conferences by international artists and thinkers intended to provoke and stimulate thought and further our understanding of the world through the lens of contemporary art. From 1978 to 1990 Lillian operated her gallery, Lillian Mauer Contemporary Art, showcasing Canadian and American artists working in multiple media. Years of collecting and being enriched by her experiences in the arts, both local and international, created a desire to share her interest with the Montreal community. Her involvement with museum boards in Canada, the US and Europe has strengthened her understanding that art can affect social change. Lesley Johnstone is an independent curator and consultant. She was curator and then Director, Curatorial affairs at Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC) from 2007 to 2024. At the MAC she curated over 40 solo and group exhibitions including Mika Rottenberg, Julian Rosefeldt, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Valérie Blass, Patrick Bernatchez, Francine Savard, Tino Sehgal, Eve Sussman and Liz Magor. Johnstone was co-curator of In Search of Expo 67, of the 2014 Montreal Biennale and the 2011 Québec Triennial. Johnstone was previously Artistic Director of the International Garden Festival at the Jardins de Métis and Head of Publications at the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Lesley Johnstone has written many catalogue texts and has edited of a number of anthologies, exhibition catalogues and monographs on contemporary Canadian art. She is the president of the Board of Administration of MOMENTA Biennale d’art contemporain. Image (Header): Lorraine O’Grady, Art is...(Women in Crowd Framed) (1983/2009). C-Print; 16 x 20 in; Lillian and Billy Mauer Collection. ©2026 Lorraine O’Grady / Copyright Visual Arts-Droits d'auteur Arts visuels (COVA-DAAV)