Montréal, May 23, 2017 – This evening, Michel Lemieux, Victor Pilon, Michel Marc Bouchard and Martin Laviolette unveiled four new Cité Mémoire tableaux presented by BMO in collaboration with the Society for the Celebration of Montréal’s 375^th Anniversary.

Cité Mémoire’s Grand Tableau (Champ-de-Mars)

Cité Mémoire’s Grand Tableau provides an overview of more than 375 years of Montréal’s history, using music and images projected onto the imposing walls of the Montréal Courthouse. This 35-minute tableau will be projected at set times, available with surround sound.

The three other tableaux are inspired by key figures who lived through significant events in Montréal’s history.

Jeanne Mance (St. Paul St., near the Bonsecours Market)

Ever since the deadly winter of 1651, a brave new call has been coming from Jeanne Mance in her fight for the survival of the outpost of Ville-Marie.

The Great Peace of Montréal (Close to the Pointe-à-Callière Museum)

Governor Callière remembers his friend, the great Huron chief Kondiaronk, and the success of the peace conference between the indigenous peoples and the North American French population in the summer of 1701.

The Expo 67 Hostess (On McGill St., at the intersection with Saint Maurice St.)

A former hostess remembers the 1967 World’s Fair and reminds us that Montréal brought together the most innovative know-how in the world for the occasion.

“Celebrating an anniversary is an opportunity for remembering. For remembering where we come from, what our great achievements are and the challenges we have faced as well as for remembering and honouring our heroes. That is what Cité Mémoire has brilliantly succeeded in doing. It is not a withdrawal into nostalgia but rather an inspiring look at who, over the years, little by little, has woven Montreal’s soul.” Jacques Ménard, Chairman, BMO Nesbitt Burns and President, BMO Financial Group, Quebec

« Par le soutien à ce projet à caractère historique, le gouvernement du Québec contribue, au-delà des festivités du 375^e anniversaire de la ville, à la mise en valeur de la riche histoire montréalaise. Cité mémoire, qui est l’un des plus imposants parcours de projections extérieures au monde, est aussi une belle vitrine en faveur de l’expertise et l’innovation montréalaises dans les arts numériques. » Le ministre des Affaires municipales et de l’Occupation du territoire, ministre de la Sécurité publique et ministre responsable de la région de Montréal, Martin Coiteux

« Notre gouvernement est fier d’avoir contribué à la réalisation de ce parcours de projections extérieures. Cette mise en valeur de la culture, du patrimoine, de l’histoire, de l’architecture et de l’urbanisme de la métropole répond parfaitement à la préoccupation du gouvernement d’innover en laissant toujours une place de choix aux bâtisseurs d’hier et aux créateurs d’aujourd’hui. » Luc Fortin, ministre de la Culture et des Communications et ministre responsable de la Protection et de la Promotion de la langue française 

“The memory of Montréal’s founders is highlighted by this major work created by fantastic contemporary artists from Montréal. In this year of Montréal’s 375th anniversary celebrations, this creation builds a bridge between our roots and our future, via key moments from the history of Montréal, a cosmopolitain, bold and unmissable city. Long live Montréal! ” Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montréal 

“As the celebrations for Canada 150 and Montréal’s 375th anniversary get into full swing, it’s an ideal time to invite visitors to discover key moments in our history. In addition to updating Old Montréal’s tourism offering, Cité Mémoire has made our historical heritage accessible to all and showcased Montréal’s talent and creativity in multimedia,” stated Michel Picard, Member of Parliament for Montarville. 

“Bell is proud to partner with Montréal en Histoires and the Cité mémoire app to launch the next phase of this outstanding project mixing history and technology,” said Pierre Rodrigue, Vice-President, Industry Relations, Bell. “People will be able to enjoy the new and existing tableaux with the updated app, which has been downloaded close to 100,000 times to date.”

“The Society for the Celebration of Montréal’s 375^th Anniversary is proud to be a partner for the launch of these four new tableaux, which include The Expo 67 Hostess, Jeanne Mance, The Great Peace and Cité Mémoire’s exceptional Grand Tableau. This circuit inspired by Montréal’s history is a beautiful tribute to our city.” Alain Gignac, General Manager of the Society for the Celebration of Montréal’s 375th Anniversary

“Tourisme Montréal is very pleased to have been involved with Cité Mémoire since its inception. This original and innovative project takes tourists and visitors on a historical tour of Montréal. We hope this exciting initiative has a long future and enjoys renewed excitement thanks to its new tableaux.” Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. 

“We are proud to be a part of this celebration of Montréal’s history,” said Stefan Berens, Marketing Manager of Visual Systems, Panasonic Canada. “Using our immersive projection technology the Cité Mémoire tableaux will be a breathtaking experience not soon forgotten.” 

About Cité Mémoire

Loosely inspired by people and events that marked the history of Montréal, Cité Mémoire, a creation by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, en collaboration avec Michel Marc Bouchard, offers a vision of the city that ranges from poetic to playful, through a series of approximately 20 tableaux that incorporate images, words, and music. Every night, Cité Mémoire populates the walls, ground, and trees of Old Montréal and the Old Port.

The free mobile application Montréal en Histoires is the best way to optimize your experience of Cité Mémoire, with audio content offered in four languages: French, English, Spanish, and Mandarin. Users can connect to the free network MTLWiFi.

Cité Mémoire is a historic legacy left by the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, and the Ville de Montréal in celebration of Montréal’s 375th anniversary. The grants awarded for this project were in the amounts of $4.3 M from the Government of Canada, $6.35 M from the Government of Quebec – of which $350,000 came from the Fonds d’initiative et de rayonnement de la métropole (FIRM) administered by the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine of the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Occupation du territoire. In addition, the Ville de Montréal is granting $5.45 M, of which $5 M comes from financial assistance provided by the Government of Quebec as part of the Entente Montréal 2025 administered by the SRM.

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Source:
Montréal en Histoires – Cité Mémoire
Audrey Schelling, Director of Communications
[email protected]

514-666-1861 extension 226