Meanwhile, the Quartier's eight video projection sites will be lit up by a digital carnival called Fascinoscope devised by Lüz Studio, a Montreal-based visual design studio. There is also a major new development this year: audience interaction will be taken further than ever with a set-up that will allow the public to play games on the projection surface outside the Saint-Laurent metro station.
"Luminothérapie allows us to offer both fertile ground for creators to experiment and a fun experience for Montrealers and visitors," said Jacques Primeau, chair of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership's board of directors. "This year's works will help create a magical atmosphere in the Quartier des Spectacles this winter, making it a prime destination."
"I am proud that Montreal's growing status in the field of creative and digital installations is attracting so much interest from talented creators, who are entering our design competitions in impressive numbers. In the process, they are helping Montreal strengthen its position as a UNESCO City of Design. I want to thank the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership and everyone whose ideas and talent are making our cultural metropolis shine, encouraging the emergence of new talent both here and elsewhere," said Manon Gauthier, the Ville de Montréal's executive committee member responsible for culture, heritage, design, Space for Life and the status of women.
RAW Design's Prismatica is an immersive installation, comprised of 50 pivoting prisms, will transform the Place des Festivals into a colourful ice palace - a giant kaleidoscope through which visitors can wander and observe the Quartier des Spectacles through a new lens. Glimmering
under natural light by day or atmospheric lighting by night, the prisms will create overlapping transparencies, patterns and reflections on their surroundings.
Visitors will be able to interact with the installation by turning the giant prisms, causing
mesmerizing transformations of countless colours. The prisms, measuring two metres tall, are made of polycarbonate panels laminated with a dichroic film that transmits and reflects every colour of the visible spectrum, varying with the position of the light source and the observer. The prisms will be
mounted on bases containing light projectors and speakers. As they pivot, they will create polychromatic effects accompanied by an ambient soundtrack. Through the interplay of these various sources of light and sound, magic will emerge.
"RAW Design is thrilled to be associated with Luminothérapie and to be part of this event celebrating lively public spaces on such a large scale. We are honoured to have the opportunity to present our Prismatica installation, and join this event's long series of extraordinary successes," said Roland Rom Colthoff, director of RAW Design.
The carnival theme will be seen throughout the Quartier on seven sets of building façades, where fantastical scenes and optical illusions will be displayed. Each projection will be accompanied by an original soundtrack of recorded organ, bass and drum music.
"Fascinoscope is an exciting project for the design team at Lüz Studio because it provides countless opportunities for us to be creative and allows us to make full use of our expertise in the performing arts. This project is a first for the company because it makes our work the star of the show, and because it will be available to a large audience over a long period of time. Creating compelling worlds with lighting and video is what w