The heart of Montreal will be alive and well this winter! The Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is proud to launch Luminothérapie | Cœur battant, a special edition of one of Montreal’s favourite winter events. Until March 14, the Quartier des Spectacles will present a novel winter experience: an original, participatory and safe activity that invites Montrealers and visitors to enjoy winter in the city with five thought-provoking installations featuring sound, light and interactivity that will provide countless moments of entertainment and wonderment. The Quartier will also don the colours of the Moment cœur battant, a nightly sound and light show in solidarity with Montreal’s cultural sector and business community.
AN ORIGINAL AND PARTICIPATORY WINTER ART WALK
Luminothérapie | Cœur battant is a unique opportunity to rediscover five creative installations that have toured the world. The works, which proudly showcase our talented creators, offer experiences that highlight our Nordic character and immerse us in new ways to enjoy winter in the city. A comforting and enchanting experience, the walk features a soundscape and lighting design that create an immersive effect. To keep downtown Montreal cheerful all winter, these all-ages interactive activities will be accompanied by comfortable outdoor spaces brimming with winter vegetation and a first-ever winter pedestrian zone on Sainte-Catherine Street, between De Bleury Street and Saint-Laurent Boulevard, open until mid-March. “With fall slipping gently into winter and the fight against COVID-19 continuing, we need some magical moments now more than ever. True to its reputation, the Quartier des Spectacles will, once again this winter, present a soothing Luminothérapie to warm every Montrealer’s heart. This winter’s expanded edition is not to be missed. It gives us the chance to discover and rediscover five installations that have toured the world, along with a nightly sound and light show. This essential event will energize our city’s downtown core, which has been badly hurt by the pandemic, and support our artists, who have also been dealt a serious blow by the crisis,” said Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal.
On the Place des Festivals, visitors will be welcomed by Loop, by Olivier Girouard, Jonathan Villeneuve and Ottoblix. Thanks to the support of the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the installation’s impressive zoetropes are back with an all-new immersive experience, a worthy sequel to their highly successful first appearance in Montreal in 2016. The centrepiece of Luminothérapie | Cœur battant, this new iteration of Loop will be presented in Montreal exclusively before moving on to represent Quebec at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2021. This adventure in sound and light takes visitors on a journey through Quebec literature thanks to the work of local illustrators, along with Index, a companion video projection created by Ottoblix, to be shown on the façade of UQÀM’s Pavillon Président-Kennedy. Next, on the Place des Arts Esplanade, you will see Entre les rangs by KANVA Architecture. This work transports us into a luminous wintery wheat field reminiscent of Quebec’s ancestral farmlands. Walk to the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain and you will find Nouvelle Lune by Sebbe Joly and Bernard Duguay, a Lucion production. The giant luminescent spheres revisit some highlights of cultural life in the Quartier through shadow theatre and captivating original music. Continuing east on Sainte-Catherine you’ll see Iceberg, by ATOMIC3 and APPAREIL Architecture. Echoing the eponymous majestic floating ice mountains, the tunnel of metal arches is a unique sound and light experience. The route concludes on Sainte-Catherine Street west of Saint-Laurent Boulevard with Spectrum, a HUB Studio creation. This installation is a fun interactive work that converts sound into light with a glowing transformation of the sound waves we make when we speak. “For years, the Luminothérapie event has helped us enjoy winter and embrace our Nordic character, while bringing energy and attention to the city’s vital cultural heart. This mission is more important than ever this year, and our team has redoubled its efforts to create a participatory, welcoming and creative route within public health guidelines. With this very special edition of Luminothérapie, we are inviting Montrealers to come feel the magic of an essential winter event that celebrates the immense talent of our local artists in a unique and luminous setting,” said Monique Simard, Chair of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership.
MOMENT CŒUR BATTANT: SOLIDARITY WITH THE CULTURAL SECTOR AND DOWNTOWN MONTREAL
These immersive activities will also be an opportunity to enjoy the Moment cœur battant,conceived and produced by Martin Messier, Julie Basse and Olivier Girouard. Each evening around 6 p.m., building façades and streets in the Quartier will be filled with red and white lights dancing to the beat of original music reminiscent of the heartbeat inside all Montrealers and their downtown. This nightly rallying cry is a reminder that our city is alive and well and its creative heart is still beating strong.
This creation unites numerous Montreal partners and locations in a common cause. To date, the participating organizations are: Avenue du Mont-Royal, BAnQ | Grande Bibliothèque, Biosphère, Musée de l’environnement, Centre du Théâtre d’Aujourd’hui, Cinémathèque québécoise, Complexe Desjardins, SDC Montréal centre-ville, Espace Libre, Ivanhoé Cambridge, Le 1000 De La Gauchetière, the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, Place Ville Marie, Maison Manuvie, La Vitrine culturelle, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the McCord Museum, the Stewart Museum, Monument-National, Place des Arts, Pointe-à-Callière – Montreal Archaeology and History Complex, the Society for Arts and Technology [SAT], Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, Théâtre ESPACE GO, Théâtre La Licorne, TOHU, Usine C and XP_MTL. Each will be lit up in red to signal their solidarity with Montreal’s cultural and business communities.
DOWNTOWN: THE PLACE TO BE THIS WINTER
As part of its coordination of winter activities in downtown Montreal, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership invites Montrealers and visitors to safely enjoy some magical festive moments with Lights on Peel: Honouring the Clans of the Kanien’kehá:ka, an initiative of SDC Montréal centre-ville (the downtown business development corporation) in partnership with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake, Heritage Portfolio, Korlcc and the borough of Ville-Marie; Follow Santa Claus, a co-production of SDC Montréal centre-ville and Dotti&cie; and the Winter Gardens, an initiative of Montreal’s Christmas Village. In addition, Sainte-Catherine Street will be a pedestrian zone between De Bleury Street and Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
ENJOY WHILE FOLLOWING PUBLIC HEALTH GUIDELINES
The amenities and installations that comprise Luminothérapie | Cœur battant were designed with public health in mind, including physical distancing. These experiences allow visitors to live and relax safely in the Quartier des Spectacles. The Partnership urges all Montrealers to follow recommendations for preventing the spread of COVID-19.
December 3, 2020, to March 14, 2021
Sunday-Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Moment cœur battant: daily at 6 p.m.
Online launch: Thursday, December 3 at 5:30 p.m.
Live on the Quartier des Spectacles Facebook page
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