Culture

LUMINO: Montreal winter wonderland of light and creativity

Organized and produced by the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership, LUMINO has become an essential part of Montreal’s winter landscape.

Por: Alejandro Carrillo
Talking heads by Limelight Art / Photo credit Ulysse Lemerise - OSA
Talking heads by Limelight Art / Photo credit Ulysse Lemerise - OSA

For the past 15 seasons, LUMINO, a free and immersive urban festival, has transformed the city’s heart into a vibrant celebration of light and creativity, embracing the unique spirit of Montreal’s Nordic character.

 

Running until March 9, 2025, this edition of LUMINO features its most ambitious lineup to date, presenting 30 dazzling light-based installations spread across public spaces. Several of these exhibits are located indoors for the first time in its history. Every evening from sunset until 11 p.m., visitors can embark on an enchanting journey through luminous art pieces that inject warmth, color, and interactivity into the winter season.

Chaleur humain by Anne Lagacé / Photo credit Nathalie St-Pierre - UQAM
Chaleur humain by Anne Lagacé / Photo credit Nathalie St-Pierre - UQAM

This year’s collection includes 14 outdoor installations, 11 indoor exhibits, and seven video projections, all created by 20 artists and 15 studios from local and international backgrounds. These works invite spectators to engage with contemplative and participatory experiences, making every visit a unique exploration of light and design.

 

One of the festival’s most talked-about installations is Talking Heads by Limelight Art (Hungary), positioned on Sainte-Catherine and St-Urbain Streets. This captivating piece consists of two massive heads embedded with 4,000 LED lights, which communicate through dynamic facial expressions and shifting colors.

Étrangement satisfaisant by Colegram / Photo credit JF Savaria - OSA
Étrangement satisfaisant by Colegram / Photo credit JF Savaria - OSA

A spectacle of illumination and art

On Esplanade PVM at Place Ville Marie, Éloge de l’air by Chevalvert invites audiences to interact with a towering five-meter banner that floats in the air. Nearby, Cercle Polaire by Jason Carter, one of Canada’s most celebrated contemporary Indigenous artists, in collaboration with M.A.D. Collectif, immerses visitors in a world inspired by the majestic wildlife of the Far North.

 

At St. James United Church, Lustres by TILT transforms the plaza into an open-air ballroom of glowing chandeliers. Over at the Palais des congrès, Biolumen by Radha Chaddah and RAW Design offers a mesmerizing visual experience inspired by the bioluminescent creatures of the ocean. Meanwhile, Orb by Spy alters the landscape of the Place des Arts Esplanade with 90 polished steel convex discs, reflecting and distorting the surroundings in intriguing ways.

Chaleur Humaine, a striking installation by Anne Lagacé, evokes a suspended sun radiating warmth and color over Place Pasteur. Nearby, Les Fabuloscopes by La Camaraderie in collaboration with Eruoma Awashish invites passersby to animate stroboscopic visuals. One of the festival’s most monumental pieces, 1000 Visages by Alejandro Figueroa of +Amor, is a massive 12-meter arch composed of 1,779 rotating mirrors, creating a dynamic interplay of light and motion near the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink.

Most ambitious edition

Music lovers will be drawn to L’orchestre endormi by Ottomata, an interactive sound-and-light installation along Saint-Denis Street that allows visitors to awaken a symphony of musical culture. This installation is just one of the many contributions from the 20 Quebec-based artists featured in LUMINO this year.

 

As night falls, a series of large-scale video projections transport audiences into immersive digital landscapes. Étrangement satisfaisant by COLEGRAM illuminates multiple downtown façades—including Édifice WILDER | Espace Danse, UQAM’s Pavillon Président-Kennedy, and the walls of the Saint-Laurent metro station—with mesmerizing visuals inspired by viral online content.

Biolumen by Radha Chaddah et Raw Design / Photo credit Ulysse Lemerise - OSA
Biolumen by Radha Chaddah et Raw Design / Photo credit Ulysse Lemerise - OSA

On the exterior of the Grande Bibliothèque, Hyperobjects by artist Aude Guivarc’h challenges viewers to reflect on the fleeting nature of seemingly eternal objects. Meanwhile, the Esplanade Tranquille skating rink once again hosts Au bord du lac Tranquille, an interactive video projection by Mirari and Normal Studio, transporting audiences on a dreamlike voyage through Quebec’s remote northern landscapes.

For your information

  • What is LUMINO’s main objective? LUMINO aims to transform Montreal’s winter landscape into a celebration of light, creativity, and interactive art.
  • How many installations are featured in this year’s edition? The festival includes 30 installations: 14 outdoor, 11 indoor, and 7 video projections.
  • What is one of the most talked-about installations at LUMINO? Talking Heads by Limelight Art, which features two LED-covered heads that communicate through facial expressions and light.
  • Where and when can people experience LUMINO? LUMINO is free to the public and runs daily from sunset until 11 p.m. across multiple locations in Montreal until March 9, 2025.

If you enjoyed this article about LUMINO, please share it. You may also be interested in this article about Christies. Check out the other articles in our Culture section.

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