PRESS RELEASE
The New LUMINO Works and a Carnival Marking Their Arrival
Montreal, January 26, 2026 — The LUMINO program continues to expand, with ten new works in the Quartier des Spectacles and downtown. The public is invited to discover the new works at the LUMINO Carnival a festive event in Place des Festivals on Saturday, January 31 from 4 to 8 p.m. Families and other participants are encouraged to bring luminous accessories and join the 15 eccentric luminous characters who will present a variety of roving performances and circus routines. The new major installations to discover include Chronoharp by Amigo & Amigo, on Promenade des Artistes, Stargate by Chalk River Labs on the Place des Arts Esplanade, and a new interactive video projection on the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink, Le coffre à jouets dégivré by Ottomata and Doki, presented with the financial support of Tourisme Montréal and the Ministère du Tourisme.
LUMINO, the free and original urban winter experience that transforms the Quartier des Spectacles and the downtown core with participatory luminous installations, video projections and special events, continues until March 8. The 16th edition includes 35 works, of which 19 are original creations previously unseen in Montreal, and 23 are installations by Quebec artists. Visit luminomtl.com and use the interactive map to discover all the LUMINO installations energizing the Quartier des Spectacles and downtown!
A Magical Ambiance at the LUMINO Carnival
The public is invited to a festive event in Place des Festivals featuring fresh churros, a free UV circus workshop led by Saphira and musical programming by DJ Serge aboard the funky MixBus. The imaginary characters brought together by Diffusion FAR, the Carnaval LUMINO program includes Grézil, a giant puppet accompanied by musicians; Léonie the luminous unicorn; ice fairies with their luminous hoops; Les Nébuleuses du papillon, a pair of luminous stilt-walking marionettes; and several luminous performances including Stonda, Waputiks, Les Cosmonautes en pyjamas, Les Bonhommes allumettes, Le Duc ou la Duchesse de l’hiver, Les Elfes mystiques and Le Bal des oiseaux. Find them in Place des Festivals from 4 to 8 p.m. on January 31.
A New Interactive Video Projection to Experience on Skates
Starting January 31, Montreal-based studios Ottomata and Doki invite the public to skate back into childhood with Le coffre à jouets dégivré and its three imaginary worlds inspired by fondly remembered games. Each of the three scenes runs for 30 minutes, and each creates a distinct and playful world: the Zero-Gravity Highway, a floating track where everything hovers; the Neon World, made of shapes and colours reminiscent of pinball machines; and The Floor is Lava!, a tropical volcanic world. The more active the skaters get, the more they interact with the projected elements and the more surprises appear. Le coffre à jouets dégivré runs on the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink three times daily (at 6:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.) from January 31 until the rink closes in the spring. This video projection is financially supported by Tourisme Montréal and the Ministère du Tourisme as part of the EPRTNT for the Montreal tourism region.
Be Amazed
A massive luminous harp called ChronoHarp, by Australian creators Amigo & Amigo, invites the crowd to play with the immense installation and produce a series of luminous animations. On Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie, Horizon by Olivier Landreville features luminous cocoons that display dreamy vistas when members of the public enter them and trigger luminous and auditory environments evoking a starry sky, a flock of birds or a leafy canopy. On Sainte-Catherine St. West, in front of Place des Arts, Unicode Haïku Extension is a generative light installation by Fred Sapey-Triomphe. It uses light to take visitors on a colourful immersive journey through the writings of the world. Lastly, Parallèles is an installation by Studio Transversal in which interaction with the luminous structure generates a video projection with real time changes, on the projection surface outside Saint-Laurent metro station. Stargate, a sculptural work by Chalk River Labs, uses video mapping to wrap the entire structure in captivating images. Visitors are invited to climb into the central ring, where they can take spectacular photos. Givrescence, a mobile designed by Montreal scenic designer Nicolas Ricard for Complexe Desjardins, is a floating constellation that projects luminous animations. It comes to life at set times, with a sound and light show of synchronized light, music and water jets in the central fountain (daily from noon to 11 p.m., every hour on the hour).
Shuttling to the Works in the Quartier Latin
A free shuttle called L’Inter-glisse links the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink and Les Glissades Gamelin, the site of End over End – a gigantic Slinky by Studio Vertigo. There are also several works nearby in the Quartier Latin. The 15 seats on the minibus are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The bus runs four times an hour on Saturdays (from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and Sundays (10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), between stops located at the corner of Sainte-Catherine East and Saint-Hubert streets for Les Glissades Gamelin, and Sainte-Catherine East and Saint-Dominique streets, in front of Le 2-22, for Esplanade Tranquille.
The public is invited to Émery Street for the world premiere of Climat intérieur by Mirari, an installation in which miniature houses are observed through four portholes. Each window is associated with a distinct climate and explores the connections between meteorological phenomena and human emotions. Phosphorescence by Pauline Loctin illuminates Place Pasteur with an original series of hanging sculptures made of folded paper and fabric, resembling an aerial forest. The work’s amber light and movements evoke deep-sea bioluminescent organisms, creating a captivating environment.
The Quartier Latin is the stage where UQAM students shine:
- The graduating class in the university’s immersive and interactive experiences program presents Synapse, a sound-and-light work in the courtyard of UQAM’s Saint-Jacques steeple and the façade of Pavillon Judith-Jasmin;
- Students in the undergraduate graphic design and visual experiences program present six original video projections on the façades of the Grande Bibliothèque and of UQAM’s Pavillon de Design (January 22 to March 8).
See Them Again Until March 8
On Sainte-Catherine St. West, see the brilliant Anemonia and Shadow by TILT (Canadian premieres), while the Palais des congrès hosts the Montreal premiere of Celestia by Kleis. The original work Entre maintenant et l’infini by Jeremy Shantz can be seen at the Eaton Centre, and Vulnérable, an interactive video projection by Michel Lemieux, is presented on the Place des Arts Esplanade.
Presented in collaboration with Tourisme Montréal, the Ministère du Tourisme and the Association hôtelière du Grand Montréal, Les Voyageurs by Cédric Le Borgne features hanging luminous characters adorning five downtown hotels: Hôtel HoneyRose Montréal, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, DoubleTree by Hilton Montréal, Montréal Marriott Château Champlain and Hyatt Place Montréal Centre-Ville. In the inner courtyard of Hôtel Humaniti, La Monarque by Lucion comprises five flowers symbolizing the beauty and fragility of nature. Luminous cocktails and mocktails are available on the outdoor patios of the DoubleTree by Hilton Montréal, the Central and Montréal Marriott Château Champlain.
