THE MONTREAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS ALL AGLOW FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Montreal, December 20, 2016 – The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is in a festive mood and is presenting a new adaptation of the light installation Entre les rangs designed by the architectural firm KANVA. The original version of this installation was featured in the fourth edition of Luminothérapie in winter 2013-2014 at Place des Festivals in the Quartier des spectacles. Consisting of 5360 rods topped with reflectors, this work will add sparkle to the façades of the MMFA’s buildings along Sherbrooke throughout the holiday season, bringing a touch of magic to Montreal’s winter.

This initiative is the first collaboration with the Quartier des spectacles Partnership and echoes “Montreal Lights Up,” the theme for the city’s 375^th anniversary.

“Entre les rangs lights up the MMFA’s exterior in a spectacular manner, underscoring the growing importance of the Museum complex,” said Pascale Chassé, the Museum’s Director of Communications. “With the start of Montreal’s 375^th anniversary celebrations, the MMFA wanted to be part of the big party and treat locals and visitors to the city to a playful, festive environment for the holiday season.”

“Montrealers are at the forefront of the exciting field of temporary public art. The mix of art, creativity and light found in Montreal is an inspiration to cultural districts in cities around the world. The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is proud to collaborate with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to once again show the work of creators who bring excellence and boldness to public spaces,” said Pierre Fortin, Executive Director, Quartier des Spectacles Partnership. Entre les rangs evokes fields of wheat swaying in the wind and through the seasons. The stylized stalks reproduce the undulations of golden wheat fields in the Quebec countryside.

Montrealers will be able to discover other works of winter public art when they visit the seventh edition of Luminothérapie at Place des Festivals. The interactive light installation Loop, accompanied by a video projection, will be on display until January 29, 2017. This work by Ekumen was designed and produced by Olivier Girouard and Jonathan Villeneuve in collaboration with Ottoblix.

Montrealers are invited to come and enjoy this light installation. Note that admission to the new Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace and to all of the Museum’s collections is free until January 15, 2017.

Entre les rangs, a work designed and produced by KANVA. Photo: Sébastien Roy.

Press kit and images: mbam.qc.ca/en/media

Source and inquirie

Elisabeth-Anne Butikofer
Press officer | MMFA
T. 514-285-1600, ext. 205
C. 514-272-4653
ebutikofer@mbamtl.org

Patricia Lachance
Press officer | MMFA
T. 514-285-1600, ext. 315
C. 514.235-2044
plachance@mbamtl.org

Marie Lamoureux
Public Relations Advisor | Quartier des Spectacles Partnership
C. 514 923-6772
marie.lamoureux@quartierdesspectacles.com

About the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The MMFA welcomes a million visitors each year. Quebec’s most visited museum, it is one of the most popular museums in Canada and ranks twelfth among art museums in North America. Its innovative temporary exhibitions combine artistic disciplines (fine arts, music, film, fashion and design) and are circulated to museums around the world. Its encyclopedic collection, which is on display in five pavilions, includes international art, world cultures, decorative arts and design and Quebec and Canadian art. The Museum complex includes a concert hall. The MMFA is also one of Canada’s leading publishers of art books in English and French, which are distributed internationally. The Michel de la Chenelière International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, the largest educational complex in a North American art museum, is housed in the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace.

About the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership

The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, founded in 2003, is a non-profit organization with some 60 members active in the district. The Partnership’s team programs cultural presentations, oversees activities and manages public spaces, specialized facilities, illumination and promotion within the Quartier des Spectacles. The Partnership is a member of several international networks, including the Connecting Cities Network and Lighting Urban Community International (LUCI), as well as the Global Cultural Districts Network. It is supported by the Ville de Montréal and the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine. For more information, visit quartierdesspectacles.com.

About KANVA

KANVA, co-founded by Tudor Radulescu and Rami Bebawi, has been among Canada’s most-awarded architectural firms in recent years. The winner of the 2015 Emerging Architectural Practice Award presented by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, recipient of an award of excellence from the Ordre des architectes du Québec and a Grand Prix du Design winner five years running, KANVA was also a nominee for two awards at the World Architecture Festival 2015 in Singapore: one for the Edison University residence and another for Entre les rangs (Luminothérapie 2013-2014). In 2016, Entre les rangs also won a medal in the Urban Fragments category at the National Urban Design Awards presented by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Canadian Institute of Planners and the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects.

The firm’s projects include museums, conversions, university residences, hotels, a conference centre and large-scale installations, temporary works and exhibitions. It is known for its multidisciplinary collaborations and for approaching each project as an opportunity to tell a story, imagine a place and expand the scope of the dialogue between art and architecture. kanva.ca