15th edition OF LUMINO: 14 new works arrive in the Quartier des Spectacles

PRESS RELEASE | For immediate release

Montreal, January 13, 2025 – As part of LUMINO new evolving format, since January 9, the public has been able to explore several previously unseen new outdoor works. They include the soothing Chaleur humaine by Quebec artist Anne Lagacé, bringing warmth to Quartier Latin, while the imposing Talking Heads by the Limelight Art collective are now dominating the conversation on Sainte-Catherine Street West. For the first time, the public can also enjoy an enriched program featuring indoor works including a collaboration with Montreal-based artists’ centres and galleries at the Balmoral block. Until March 9, daily from sunset to 11 p.m., Montrealers and visitors will enjoy a refreshed and unprecedented winter experience to rediscover downtown and the Quartier des Spectacles, thanks to a series of works celebrating the intersection of light, creativity and Nordic life. 

 
LUMINO is produced by the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership and presented with the financial support of the Ville de Montréal and Tourisme Montréal, and the collaboration of several co-exhibitors: Place des Arts, Complexe Desjardins, Montréal centre-ville, Place Ville Marie (PVM), the Palais des congrès de Montréal, SDC Quartier latin, BAnQ, Le Central, The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth and UQAM. 

NEW OUTDOOR WORKS STARTING IN JANUARY

With 2025 now underway, LUMINO invites Montrealers and visitors to rediscover downtown and the Quartier des Spectacles with all-new installations that will transform public space for the rest of the season. Designed to enliven the city in winter, the new works join those unveiled in November. On January 9, Place Pasteur at UQAM began hosting a sun that never sets in the form of Chaleur humaine. Comprising an immense ring and rays representing the shining sun, this poetic installation is poised a few metres off the ground, its fluctuating intensity creating a relaxing sensation of luminous movement. On Sainte-Catherine Street West, also unveiled on January 9, a work called Talking Heads leaves no one indifferent with its two heads made of 4,000 LED lights that interact with each other, creating colourful facial expressions and conducting elaborate conversations in light. Starting January 16, Le Tunnel is an installation that will be presented in Place Émilie-Gamelin. Visitors will be able to move through a 30-metre tunnel of sound and light made of 16 LED frames, each 4 metres tall. Then, starting January 30, the giant musical garden of Trumpet Flowers will dwarf visitors while inviting them to wander to the sound of Australian jazz and interact with the installation’s gigantic illuminated flowers. 
 

ALL-NEW INDOOR INSTALLATIONS  

For the first time since its inception, LUMINO will also present a series of all-new artworks and installations in the indoor spaces of the Quartier des Spectacles and downtown Montreal. Since January 9, the entrance to Le Central has featured the dynamic immersive installation Équilibre : Tensio by Guillaume Bourassa and Francis Théberge, offering visitors new perspectives on perception. The work is chaotic at first glance, but morphs into a harmonious structure when viewed from a specific position. Also since January 9, VORTEX by artist Nicolas Paolozzi has been hanging above the fountain in Complexe Desjardins. The work presents an encounter between light, water and geometry. This world-premiere immersive piece offers viewers a poetic sensory experience. Starting January 23, the public is invited to discover a new interactive work, Cinétique by Ottomata, at The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth. With its dozens of luminous stems in a circular arrangement, the installation invites visitors to explore the invisible kinetic force that envelops us and shapes our lives. Lastly, from January 30 to March 1 at Place des Arts, Kaleidoscope : A Social Media Trinity by Alejandro Figueroa of +Amor will present a reflection on the creation, dissemination and consumption of content and explore the impact of social media.  

LUMINO IN THE BALMORAL BLOCK 

Since January 9, LUMINO has also been present in the Balmoral block with experimental indoor works selected in collaboration with Montreal-based artists’ centres and galleries. This unique initiative undertaken for the 15^th edition Montreal’s essential winter event will give the public an opportunity to discover exclusive works by Canadian artists. Chasing Waterfalls by Hidden Edges, Matière Première by Yan Breuleux and Porteur de Lumière by students from NAD-UQAC were unveiled on January 9, while microstars by Charline Dally and Gabrielle HB will join them on January 23. 

This month, LUMINO also includes video projections by UQAM design students: starting January 23, the façades of the Grande Bibliothèque and UQAM’s Centre de Design will feature the captivating imagery of Au-delà de l’humain.

ABOUT LUMINO 

Now in its 15^th year, the Luminothérapie event, initiated and produced by the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, presents an original, captivating and participatory winter experience featuring light and sound installations in public spaces. For its 15^th edition, Luminothérapie becomes LUMINO, with a new, expanded format extending throughout the downtown core and the Quartier des Spectacles, with an extensive evolving program featuring both indoor and outdoor works. LUMINO continues to encourage creativity in urban installations and digital art. The event, from November to March, is an essential part of winter in Montreal and attracted the attention of cultural districts around the world, which now welcome its installations, created by local and international artists. Touring works are distributed by Quartier des Spectacles international.   

To learn more about LUMINO and see the works presented in previous years, view the LUMINO press kit (in French). 

This edition is dedicated to the late Pierre Fortin, who was executive director of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership from 2009 to 2020. Mr. Fortin was one of the key people behind the creation of Luminothérapie.

About the Quartier des Spectacles and the Partnership  

The Quartier des Spectacles is Montréal’s cultural heart. It offers the greatest concentration and diversity of cultural venues in North America and hosts 52 major musical, dance, theatrical, film, literary and circus events, inviting Montrealers, festivalgoers and tourists alike to experience the excitement of festivals in the public squares and halls of the Quartier des Spectacles. The Quartier also hosts innovative urban installations involving cutting-edge lighting design and immersive environments. The Quartier des Spectacles has become an international showcase for digital public art. 

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. 

More information: quartierdesspectacles.com 

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MEDIA CONTACT 

Mélanie Mingotaud 
Communications Mingotwo 
melanie@mingo2.ca 
(514) 582-5272 

SOURCE   

Laurie Coulombe 
Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles 
laurie.coulombe@quartierdesspectacles.com   
(581) 998-6066 

APPENDICES 

Installations 

NOVEMBER 28, 2024 TO MARCH 9, 2025 

1000 visages by Alejandro Figueroa of +Amor (Canada) 
Facing Esplanade Tranquille, on Sainte-Catherine St. W.

Biolumen by Radha Chaddah and RAW Design (Canada) 
Co-exhibitor: Palais des congrès de Montréal 
Palais des congrès  

Cercle Polaire by Jason Carter and M.A.D. Collectif (Canada) 
Co-exhibitor: Place Ville Marie 
Special guest work 
Place Ville Marie (PVM) 

Les Fabuloscopes by La Camaraderie in collaboration with Eruoma Awashish (Canada) 
Co-exhibitor: BAnQ 
Grande Bibliothèque 

*Lustres by TILT    
Co-exhibitor: Montréal centre-ville 

ORB by SpY 
Special guest work 
Upper Esplanade, Place des Arts 

*Éloge de l’air by Chevalvert (France) 
Co-exhibitor: PVM 
Esplanade PVM, Place Ville Marie 

JANUARY 9 TO MARCH 9

Chaleur humaine by Anne Lagacé (Canada) 
Place Pasteur  

Cinétique by Ottomata (Canada) 
The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth 
January 23 to March 9 

Équilibre : Tensio by Guillaume Bourassa and Francis Théberge (Canada) 
Co-exhibitor: Le Central 
At the entrance to Le Central 

Le TUNNEL by Big Art (Canada) 
Place Émilie-Gamelin 
January 16 to March 9

Talking Heads by Limelight Art (Hungary) 
Sainte-Catherine Street 
January 9 to March 9

**VORTEX by Nicolas Paolozzi (France) 
Co-exhibitor: Complexe Desjardins 
Complexe Desjardins fountain 
 
JANUARY 30 TO MARCH 1 

Kaleïdoscope : A Social Media Trinity by Alejandro Figueroa of +Amor (Canada) 
Co-exhibitor: Place des Arts 
Inside Place des Arts 

FEBRUARY 13 TO MARCH 9 

**Extopie (Graduating class project, UQAM interactive media program) 
Co-exhibitor: UQAM 
Façade of the UQAM bell tower and UQAM Agora 
March 6, 7 and 8 

TENTACULES by Mélanie Tessier, Designs in Air and CR34TE (Canada and UK) 
Place Émilie-Gamelin 
Febuary 28 to March 9

Video projections 

Au bord du lac Tranquille by Mirari and Normal Studio (Canada) 
Esplanade Tranquille skating rink 
November 28 to March 9 

**Étrangement satisfaisant by COLEGRAM (Canada) 
Façades of Édifice WILDER | Espace Danse, UQAM’s pavillon Président-Kennedy and the building adjacent to Saint-Laurent metro station  
November 28 to March 9 

**Hyperobjects by Aude Guivarc’h (Canada) 
Façade of the Grande Bibliothèque 
November 28 to January 22 

**Au-delà de l’humain by UQAM design students 
Co-exhibitor: UQAM 
Façades of the Grande Bibliothèque and the Centre de Design, UQAM 
January 23 to March 9 

Balmoral Block Installation 

Chasing Waterfalls by Hidden edges (Canada) 
Balmoral Block 
January 9 to February 2 

L’abyme by LP Rondeau 
Balmoral Block 
February 6 to 16 

MACHINACOLOR by Steban Sanfacon (Canada) 
Balmoral Block 
February 6 to 16 

Matière première bya Yan Breuleux (Canada) 
Balmoral Block 
January 9 to 19 

microstars by Charline Dally and Gabrielle HB (Canada) 
Balmoral Block 
January 23 to February 2 

Porteur de Lumière by the students of École NAD (Canada) 
Balmoral Block 
January 9 to February 16 

*North American premiere 

**World premiere