The video projections will be shown on Grande Bibliothèque (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec), UQAM’s Centre de design, Cégep du Vieux Montréal, Place de la Paix (Zéro 1 Hotel), Président–Kennedy building at UQAM, Théâtre Maisonneuve, the UQAM bell tower, Loft des Arts and the building next to Saint-Laurent metro station.

“These façades are used year-round for exhibiting digital art, but only during Luminothérapie do we commission a single creator to project their work on all the buildings,” said Jacques Primeau, chair of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership’s board of directors. “This is an exceptional creative laboratory and showcase in the heart of the city. It is truly a source of creative inspiration and excitement: each year, we receive more proposals, and they are increasingly innovative.”

“The video projections presented at Montréal’s Luminothérapie Festival have, for many years, provided residents and visitors with stunning installations and animations. I hope the entire video sector will respond to the Festival’s call for projects and participate in this wonderful democratization of our digital art, cultural life and urban animation,” added Manon Gauthier, member of the Montréal Executive Committee responsible for Culture, Heritage, Design, Space for Life and the Status of Women.

Note that the call for proposals for the first Luminothérapie component, the creation of an installation for Place des Festivals, is still open. Applicants may register until April 4, 2014 at noon (news release).

THE COMPETITION
The competition involves the design and production of nine architectural video projections, including one to be equipped with a physical apparatus enabling public interaction with the work. The interactive installation is to be the central work, installed outside Saint-Laurent metro station.

Proposals must be deeply connected to winter and be inspired by the uniqueness of the sites. Works must be grounded in bold, rich, creative ideas. As a whole, the work must reach out to the public, capture people’s attention, surprise them and encourage them to stop and engage with the work.

The nine video projections must have overall coherence, without necessarily having a single narrative thread. The projections must also be accompanied by an original soundtrack.

WHO CAN ENTER THE COMPETITION?

The competition is open to multidisciplinary creative teams with a minimum of two members. The lead designer must be a working professional in multimedia or the visual and media arts, and one of the other team members must be a sound designer. The lead designer must be headquartered in Canada at the time of submitting the proposal.

COMPETITION PROCESS

The competition has two phases. In the first, applicants submit proposals for review; submissions are anonymous in order to maintain impartiality and ensure openness to new talent. In the second phase, the finalists will give a presentation to a jury.
The total production budget for the winning project is $100,000.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

Participants must register by April 29, 2014 at noon Montreal time in order to receive the documents required for preparing their proposal. For registration forms, rules and evaluation criteria, visit: mtlunescodesign.com/en/luminotherapie2014

ABOUT LUMINOTHÉRAPIE
The Luminothérapie competition, run jointly with the Ville de Montréal’s Bureau du design, is aimed at stimulating Montreal-based creativity and presenting the results to the Quartier’s winter visitors free of charge. Luminothérapie has two components: 1) Showcase and enliven Place des Festivals and 2) Design and produce video projections for nine building façades in Quartier des Spectacles, including an interactive production.
Demonstrating the event’s creative appeal, the last competition attracted 58 proposals for both components combined (including 14 in the video projections section), as compared to 42 the previous year (9 video projections). In 2013-14, the competition made it possible for the public to enjoy the Entre les rangs installation by Kanva in Place des Festivals and the Trouve Bob video projection series by Champagne Club Sandwich, presented on seven building façades in Quartier des Spectacles. More information: press kit

ABOUT QUARTIER DES SPECTACLES
Quartier des Spectacles is Montreal’s cultural heart, boasting North America’s most concentrated and diverse group of cultural venues. The district is the year-round host to countless festivals and events, many of which include free outdoor shows and activities. The Quartier also hosts innovative urban installations involving cutting-edge lighting design, immersive environments or interactive digital spaces. Quartier des Spectacles is an international showcase for new multimedia technology, making Montreal a global leader in the field. For more information, visit quartierdesspectacles.com.

ABOUT MONTREAL UNESCO CITY OF DESIGN
Montreal is part of UNESCO’s international Creative Cities Network in the Cities of Design category. The Network includes 41 cities in 23 countries. It helps creators in member cities share their experiences, while promoting the international exchange of best practices and knowledge.
The Ville de Montréal’s Bureau du design works with the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership on preparing and running this annual competition. Such competitions are among the many commitments taken on by the city and the partners in Action Plan 2007-2017 – Montreal, Cultural Metropolis, which aims to promote excellence in design and architecture while affirming Montreal’s status as a UNESCO City of Design.

Images of previous Luminothérapie works are available on our Flickr account: www.flickr.com/photos/quartierdesspectacles/sets
Please include proper credit for any photos used.