The Grey Nuns have had a remarkable influence in Quebec and around the world through the founding of over 300 vital social institutions. Since the 1880’s the headquarters for the group has been the Motherhouse, which has also functioned as the womens' residence. This beautiful Quebec Heritage Site, located on Guy Street in downtown Montreal, was recently purchased by Concordia University. As the few remaining nuns are preparing to leave this historic venue, their departure in many ways represents the final passage of Quebec itself into secular modernity.

The Grey Nuns Project blends historical documentation with cinematic innovation to enter that time in Quebec history before the revolution tranquille of the 1960s. The filmed materials respectfully document this disappearing world, while at the same time drawing on some of the most recent technologies available in high-definition video, stereoscopy and computer imaging to recreate its history. As we perceive through some of its images, the Motherhouse itself embodies the Grey Nuns’ faith in an ordered universe: chairs lined up row upon row, long sparse halls evenly punctuated by doorways, and living quarters tidy but sparse.

Integrating contemporary footage with archival materials, including architectural drawings, the Grey Nuns Project offers an experimental and evocative blend of narrative innovation, historical excavation, and ethnographic insight. High-definition footage details the Motherhouse today, transforming the historic chapel’s original architectural plans into a living virtual space, creating phantasmic layers of the ephemeral and the enduring.

While still in creation, the Grey Nuns Project will soon be an immersive video installation.