21 BALANÇOIRES IN SPRING, SUMMER AND FALL FOR ITS FIFTH EDITION

Press release - For immediate release

Montreal, April 7, 2015 – The 21 Balançoires installation will return to the Quartier des Spectacles to delight Montrealers and visitors not once but twice this year. By popular demand, the swings will make a second appearance on the Promenade des Artistes from August 6 to October 18, in addition to the installation’s regular springtime stint from April 14 to May 31.

“The 21 Balançoires has become a signature of the Quartier des Spectacles. It is one of the first participatory works designed for our square kilometre,” said Jacques Primeau, chair of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership board of directors. “It is the best example I know of a work that has inspired the public to embrace a public space. We are very pleased to be able to make it available for an even longer time this year.”

The installation, by Daily tous les jours, is part street furniture and part game that invites people to participate in a musical collaboration. Each swing triggers musical notes, so when several swings are in motion at once a melody emerges. It’s the perfect excuse to get to know the person on the next swing!

Each swing reproduces the sound of an instrument – piano, guitar, harp or vibraphone – and the notes are determined by how high you swing. After dark, 21 Balançoires is illuminated to create a dance of lights.

INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM

The 21 Balançoires installation enchants people far and wide. The work has been written about extensively and is much discussed online.

The installation won the Grand Award of the Shenzen (China) Design Awards for Young Talents in 2013, and two awards at the international Interaction Design Awards: first prize in the Engaging category and Best in Show.

After several cities and events around the world expressed interest in hosting the work, Daily tous les jours created an exportable version, which was first presented at the Green Box Arts Festival in Colorado last June. In March 2015, the travelling version was selected from among 7,000 projects for support from the Knight Foundation, a major American philanthropic organization. A portion of the US $325,000 grant will be used to study the social and economic impact of the swings on their locations in the United States.

A DAILY TOUS LES JOURS CREATION

This digital artwork was created specifically for the Quartier des Spectacles by the Montreal-based design team of Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat of Daily tous les jours.

“We were looking for new types of interactivity to encourage public participation,” they explain. “The idea of swings came very early on, because it is an intuitive interface. People immediately know what to do. By placing the swings in an urban setting, rather than in a playground, we convey the idea that this is a free space, a place where you can let yourself go and recapture your childhood, right downtown. Music is part of the game, and it encourages interaction.”

For 21 Balançoires, the designers worked with Luc-Alain Giraldeau, a professor in the Faculty of Science at UQAM with whom they studied issues related to cooperation, and composer Radwan Ghazi Moumneh.

DAILY TOUS LES JOURS

Known for collaborative creative experiences presented in public spaces, Daily tous les jours is a design studio with core interests in new ways to interact and tell stories. Its multidisciplinary projects combine participation, design and technology in many forms: objects, urban design and installations, exhibitions, social experiments, events, software applications and films.

ABOUT THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES

The Quartier des Spectacles is Montreal’s cultural heart, boasting North America’s most concentrated and diverse group of cultural venues. The district is the year-round host to countless festivals and events, many of which include free outdoor shows and activities.

The Quartier also hosts innovative urban installations involving cutting-edge lighting design, immersive environments or interactive digital spaces. It also presents artistic video projections on several building façades, year round. The Quartier des Spectacles is an international showcase for new multimedia technology, making Montreal a global leader in the urban exhibition of digital content. For more information, visit quartierdesspectacles.com.

Videos of 21 Balançoires: quartierdesspectacles.com/en/21balancoires/

21 Balançoires is part of Digital Spring 2015, an initiative of Montreal’s Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) in partnership with more than 50 organizations active in creative fields. It is aimed at showcasing Montreal’s thriving digital arts scene.

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Photos: flickr.com/photos/quartierdesspectacles/
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Media enquiries: Marie-Joëlle Corneau
marie-joelle.corneau@quartierdesspectacles.com | 514 348-9676