15th EDITION OF LUMINO: 30 LUMINOUS WORKS TO DISCOVER ALL WINTER IN THE QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES AND DOWNTOWN

Montreal, November 28, 2024 – For its 15^th edition, Luminothérapie, the iconic Montreal winter event, is now LUMINO! The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is pleased to announce a spectacular phased program transforming downtown Montreal into a celebration of light and creativity highlighting our Nordic character. LUMINO will brighten the Quartier des Spectacles and downtown all winter, from November 28, 2024 to March 9, 2025, daily from sunset to 11 p.m.

This year, more than 30 works – 14 outdoors, 11 indoors, 7 video projections plus some surprise works – will be unveiled in phases over the next four months from Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie to Place Émilie-Gamelin. The works, created by 15 studios and 20 artists both local and international, will offer Montrealers and visitors a refreshed experience throughout the winter with contemplative and participatory installations.

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

MARQUEE WORKS TO DISCOVER

Starting November 28, the public will enjoy an impressive set of outdoor installations. On Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie, Éloge de l’air by Chevalvert invites members of the public to make an enormous 5-metre banner float in the air; At the Hand by Patrice LaCroix, on the Place des Arts Esplanade, lets visitors control an enormous hand; Les Fabuloscopes by La Camaraderie with Eruoma Awashish, set up in front of the Grande Bibliothèque, invites passers-by to create stroboscopic animations; Lustres by TILT, on the parvis of St. James United Church, is a unique open-air ballroom experience; 1000 Visages by Alejandro Figuerroa of +Amor, facing the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink, is a colossal 12-metre archway with 1779 moving mirrors; Biolumen by Rahda Chaddah and RAW Design, at the Palais des congrès, is a unique contemplative experience inspired by bioluminescent oceanic organisms. There are also two special guest works: Cercle Polaire by Jason Carter and M.A.D. Collectif, on Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie, invites visitors to immerse themselves in the world of majestic Far North fauna; and Orb by Spy transforms the Place des Arts Esplanade with 90 convex discs made of polished steel.

NEW WORKS AFTER THE HOLIDAYS

In January, three new outdoor works will be added to the already extensive program. Starting January 9, Chaleur Humaine is a piece by Anne Lagacé that resembles a suspended sun. It will bring colour and warmth to Place Pasteur. Featuring 16 four-metre-tall arrays of LED lights, arranged to form a 30-metre light tunnel, Le TUNNEL by Big Art can be experienced in Place Émilie-Gamelin starting January 16. On Saint-Denis St. in the Quartier Latin, the three illuminated stations of the interactive installation L’Orchestre Endormi by Ottomata will invite the public to step into an orchestra conductor’s shoes, starting February 13.

UNPRECEDENTED INDOOR EXPERIENCES

For the first time, LUMINO’s programming will be enhanced with indoor installations, open to the public starting January 9. The works include Équilibre : Tensio by Guillaume Bourassa and Francis Théberge. Located at the entrance to Le Central, this dynamic immersive installation plays with perception. Apparently chaotic, it becomes a harmonious structure when viewed from a certain position. With VORTEX, artist Nicolas Paolozzi stages an encounter between light, water and geometry. Positioned above the Complexe Desjardins fountain, this immersive work provides a poetic sensory experience. Meanwhile, an interactive work called Cinétique, by Ottomata, will be located inside The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth starting January 16. Its dozens of luminous stems, arranged in a circle, invite the public to explore the invisible kinetic forces that surround us and shape our everyday lives. Inside Place des Arts, starting January 30, the public is invited to discover Kaléidoscope: A Social Media Trinity by Alejandro Figueroa of AMOR+. The installation explores the impact of social media through a reflection on the creation, dissemination and consumption of content. LUMINO will also occupy the Balmoral block with six experimental works curated by three local galleries: perte de signal, Elektra Galerie and Eastern Bloc. The public will have an exclusive opportunity to discover Microstars by Charline Dally and Gabrielle HB, Porteur de Lumière by students from NAD-UQAC, Afflux by Jade Delobre, Mechanicolor by Stéban SanFaçon, Chasing Waterfalls by Hidden Edges and Matière Première by Yan Breuleux.

LUMINO: A SHOWCASE FOR STUDENTS

LUMINO will also feature plenty of up-and-coming talent. Starting January 23, video projections by UQAM design students can be seen on the façades of UQAM’s Centre de design and the Grande Bibliothèque. In addition, on March 6, 7 and 8, Exotopie, a group project by the graduating class in the interactive media program at UQAM, will invite the public to enter an enchanting alternative world inspired by exoplanetary biology, with luminous and aural installations positioned near the UQAM bell tower, along with an immersive interactive experience in UQAM’s Agora.

VIDEO PROJECTIONS TO ENLIVEN WINTER NIGHTS

Starting November 28, the public will see video projections that transport them to immersive visual worlds. Étrangement satisfaisant by COLEGRAM illuminates the façades of Édifice WILDER | Espace Danse, UQAM’s Pavillon Président-Kennedy and the wall adjacent to Saint-Laurent metro station, with a series of three video projections riffing on online culture and videos. On the façade of the Grande Bibliothèque, Hyperobjects, by artist Aude Guivarc’h, invites viewers to ponder the ephemerality of seemingly permanent and unchanging things. Lastly, the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink will once again present the interactive video projection Au bord du lac Tranquille by Mirari and Normal studio, taking Montrealers and visitors on a dreamy journey through Quebec’s Far North.

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

PHOTOS

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MEDIA CONTACT

Communications Mingotwo
Mélanie Mingotaud
melanie@mingo2.ca
(514) 923-6772

SOURCE

Chloé Goldstein
Quartier des Spectacles Partnership
chloe.goldstein@quartierdesspectacles.com
514 812‑2193

APPENDICES

Installations

NOVEMBER 28, 2024 TO JANUARY 5, 2025

At The Hand by Patrice LaCroix (Canada)
Co-exhibitor: Place des Arts
Place des Arts Esplanade

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

JANUARY 9 TO MARCH 9, 2025

Chaleur humaine by Anne Lagacé (Canada)
Place Pasteur

Cinétique by Ottomata (Canada)
The Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth
January 16 to March 9, 2025

Éloge de l’air by Chevalvert (France)
Co-exhibitor: PVM
Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie
North American premiere

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

**VORTEX by Nicolas Paolozzi (France)
Co-exhibitor: Complexe Desjardins
Complexe Desjardins fountain

JANUARY 30 TO MARCH 1, 2025

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, 2025

**L’orchestre endormi by Ottomata (Canada)
Co-exhibitor: SDC du Quartier latin
St-Denis Street, Quartier latin

**Exotopie, Graduating class project, UQAM interactive media program
Co-exhibitor: UQAM
In front fo UQAM bell tower and UQAM Agora
March 6,7 and 8, 2025

*North American premiere

**World premiere

Video projections

Au bord du lac Tranquille by Mirari and Normal Studio (Canada)
Esplanade Tranquille skating rink
November 28, 2024 to March 9, 2025

**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, 2024 to March 9, 2025

**Hyperobjects by Aude Guivarc’h (Canada)
Façade of the Grande Bibliothèque
November 28, 2024 to January 22, 2025

**Video projection by UQAM design students
Co-exhibitor: UQAM
Façades of the Grande Bibliothèque and the Centre de Design, UQAM
January 23 to March 9, 2025

*North American premiere

**World premiere