PRESS RELEASE
Montreal, September 10, 2025 — For its second edition, La rentrée de la relève becomes Lumière sur la relève! The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is pleased to renew this video projection series to showcase the talent of Montreal and Quebec's artistic and creative community in digital production from September 4 to 24. For three weeks, six video projections created by emerging artists will be shown on the facades of the WILDER Building | Espace danse and the Grande Bibliothèque, as well as, new this year, on the facades near the Saint-Laurent metro station and the UQAM Design Pavilion.
Each highly distinctive projection explores a specific theme in a unique style. The works were selected following a call for proposals issued in the spring of this year by the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership. The six winning artists or teams are: HEXA (Roméo Girard, Justine Gagnon, Émilie Cayer, Jean-Marie Gariépy and Michaël Janes-Villiard), Samuel Chapleau, Étienne Martin, Mathilde Chamussy, Vénus Grivegnée and Junior Vigneault. The winners were selected based on the power and originality of their proposals. Each work is perfectly matched to the four projection surfaces, making the event an opportunity to explore both the Quartier and compelling artistic approaches. The call for proposals will be repeated in 2026 for a third edition.
For this second edition, the jury comprised a group of industry professionals: Vincent Bilodeau (Creative Director, Colegram), Clara Déry (Assistant Director, Society for Arts and Technology [SAT]), and Cecilia Ramirez (Director of Partnerships and Business Development, National Film Board of Canada). They selected the following six works:
Look Up is a contemplative projection inviting you to step away from your phone and rediscover the beauty of the world around you. In a universe overwhelmed with notifications, the animation follows a playful character breaking free from the digital rush to find a vibrant world filled with enchanting nature and delicate, colorful shape.
Earthly Odyssey is a 2D animated architectural video projection that accompanies an alien on his journey of discovery through the biomes of the vast planet Earth: forest, ocean, and city. The animation unfolds through a three-frame composition, each presenting different shots of the same biome simultaneously. It alternates between close-ups of the main character and scenes highlighting the animals and environments that surround him.
Blowing a bubble (2022-2025) is a contemplative animated short film. Produced in 2D with an aesthetic inspired by paper cutouts, it explores a suspended world where wonder, fragility, and metamorphosis intersect. Minimalist in its lines but rich in symbols, it invites the viewer to immerse themselves in a visual and sensory experience, somewhere between dreamlike naivety and introspection.
In a mysterious forest, strange characters invite you to learn their language under the weight of their gazes. The work aims to intrigue visitors with its mysterious aesthetic, then invite them to interact with it.
The work presents an animation featuring people sharing tender kisses. Their embraces evolve slowly and transform continuously: the bodies shift, changing in shape, texture, and color, sometimes approaching abstraction.
New Landscapes is a generative video installation in which fragments of footage captured by a machine learning tool are recomposed into shifting landscapes. The work explores how machines filter and rewrite our relationship to the world.
LUMIÈRE SUR LA RELÈVE
From September 4 to 24, 2025
Screenings every day after dark
Facade of the WILDER Building | Espace danse
Facade near the Saint-Laurent metro station
Facade of the UQAM Design Pavilion
Facade of the Grande Bibliothèque
Free tour
Tour with the artists on September 10, at 8 p.m.
Departure from Place des Festivals
The Quartier des Spectacles is the cultural heart of Montreal, boasting North America’s largest and most diverse concentration of cultural amenities. The Quartier’s 1 km2 of urban space delights audiences year round thanks to nearly 80 performance venues and creative spaces and 50 annual festivals. The district also showcases innovative urban installations and cutting edge digital art and lighting design. The Quartier des Spectacles positions Montreal as an international leader in urban animation, making it a prime destination for culture and tourism.
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.
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Please include full captions and credits.
Mélanie Mingotaud
Communications Mingotwo
melanie@mingo2.ca
514 582-5272
Laurie Coulombe
Quartier des Spectacles Partnership
laurie.coulombe@quartierdesspectacles.com
581 998-6066
