CŒUR BATTANT by Martin Messier, Julie Basse and Olivier Girouard

The path

AN ORIGINAL AND PARTICIPATORY WINTER ART WALK

This year, Luminothérapie will deliver something different: a series of luminous, interactive and contemplative works at several locations in the Quartier des Spectacles. Visitors will discover few installations by local artists along a walking route punctuated by comfortable rest areas and winter vegetation.

The Quartier des Spectacles will present a novel winter experience: an original, participatory and safe activity that invites Montrealers and visitors to enjoy winter in the city with five thought-provoking installations featuring sound, light and interactivity that will provide countless moments of entertainment and wonderment. The Quartier will also don the colours of the Moment cœur battant, a nightly sound and light show in solidarity with Montreal’s cultural sector and business community.

Luminothérapie | Cœur battant is a unique opportunity to rediscover five creative installations that have toured the world.

The luminous artworks

Loop, by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve and Ottoblix. Thanks to the support of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the installation’s impressive zoetropes are back with an all-new immersive experience, a worthy sequel to their highly successful first appearance in Montreal in 2016.

This adventure in sound and light takes visitors on a journey through Quebec literature thanks to the work of local illustrators, along with Index, a companion video projection created by Ottoblix, to be shown on the façade of UQÀM’s Pavillon Président-Kennedy. “The arrival of winter means it’s time for Luminothérapie, which will bring enchantment to the heart of the city once again this year."

Next, on the Place des Arts Esplanade, you will see Entre les rangs by KANVA Architecture. This work transports us into a luminous wintery wheat field reminiscent of Quebec’s ancestral farmlands.

Walk to the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain and you will find Nouvelle Lune by Sebbe Joly and Bernard Duguay, a Lucion production. The giant luminescent spheres revisit some highlights of cultural life in the Quartier through shadow theatre and captivating original music.

Continuing east on Sainte-Catherine you’ll see Iceberg, by ATOMIC3 and APPAREIL Architecture. Echoing the eponymous majestic floating ice mountains, the tunnel of metal arches is a unique sound and light experience.

The route concludes on Sainte-Catherine Street west of Saint-Laurent Boulevard with Spectrum, a HUB Studio creation. This installation is a fun interactive work that converts sound into light with a glowing transformation of the sound waves we make when we speak. “For years, the Luminothérapie event has helped us enjoy winter and embrace our Nordic character, while bringing energy and attention to the city’s vital cultural heart.

These immersive activities will also be an opportunity to enjoy the Moment cœur battant, conceived and produced by Martin Messier, Julie Basse and Olivier Girouard. Each evening around 6 p.m., building façades and streets in the Quartier will be filled with red and white lights dancing to the beat of original music reminiscent of the heartbeat inside all Montrealers and their downtown. This nightly rallying cry is a reminder that our city is alive and well and its creative heart is still beating strong.

MOMENT CŒUR BATTANT: SOLIDARITY WITH THE CULTURAL SECTOR AND DOWNTOWN MONTREAL

These immersive activities will also be an opportunity to enjoy the Moment cœur battant, conceived and produced by Martin Messier, Julie Basse and Olivier Girouard. Each evening around 6 p.m., building façades and streets in the Quartier will be filled with red and white lights dancing to the beat of original music reminiscent of the heartbeat inside all Montrealers and their downtown. This nightly rallying cry is a reminder that our city is alive and well and its creative heart is still beating strong.

This creation unites numerous Montreal partners and locations in a common cause. To date, the participating organizations are: Avenue du Mont-Royal, BAnQ | Grande Bibliothèque, Biosphère, Musée de l’environnement, Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Cinémathèque québécoise, Complexe Desjardins, SDC Montréal centre-ville, Espace Libre, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Le 1000 De La Gauchetière, the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, Place Ville Marie, Maison Manuvie, La Vitrine culturelle, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, the McCord Museum, the Stewart Museum, Monument-National, Place des Arts, Pointe-à-Callière – Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre ESPACE GO, Théâtre La Licorne, TOHU, Usine C and XP_MTL. Each will be lit up in red to signal their solidarity with Montreal’s cultural and business communities.

CREDITS

ABOUT LUMINOTHÉRAPIE

Luminothérapie is Quebec’s largest competition for temporary public art installations. Each year, Luminothérapie presents an original, interactive and captivating winter experience in Montreal’s Quartier des Spectacles with a major installation in Place des Festivals. Luminothérapie seeks to spur creativity in the design of urban installations and digital art. Several cultural districts around the world have shown interest in its interactive art installations created for public spaces by local artists and creators. Since 2016, 12 works created for the Quartier des Spectacles have been exhibited on nearly 100 occasions in more than 50 cities in Canada and around the world.

To learn more about the competition, and for a list of previous years’ winners, see the Luminothérapie press kit. 

ABOUT THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES AND THE PARTNERSHIP

The Quartier des Spectacles is Montreal’s cultural heart, boasting North America’s most concentrated and diverse group of cultural venues. Year round, the district is home to countless festivals and events, and hosts innovative urban installations involving cutting-edge lighting design, immersive environments or interactive digital spaces. The Quartier des Spectacles is a showcase for new multimedia technology, making Montreal a global leader in the urban exhibition of digital content.

The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, founded in 2003, is a non-profit organization with more than 85 members active in the district. It is responsible for animating the Quartier des Spectacles by programming cultural activities, managing and animating public spaces, providing distinctive illumination and promoting the Quartier as a must-visit cultural destination. The Partnership benefits from the support of the Ville de Montréal.

PRESS REALESES

LUMINOTHÉRAPIE | CŒUR BATTANT, A LUMINOUS WINTER IN THE HEART OF MONTREAL

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LUMINOTHÉRAPIE | CŒUR BATTANT, A GLITTERING WINTER EXPERIENCE IN THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES

MEDIA RELATIONS

Chloé Goldstein | chloe.goldstein@quartierdesspectacles.com | 514 879-0009 poste 266