Nuit blanche at Place des Arts: where the pleasures of the literary and performing arts will be assuming many forms!

Poetry Night is back with new features for its second edition. 

Montreal, February 13, 2025 — On Saturday, March 1, the Place des Arts and its partners are joining the great movement of the Nuit Blanche once again this year. For the occasion, she will present the second edition of the Nuit de la poésie, in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Duceppe and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) will also offer a festive and lively program. Be part of the free activities on offer between 8:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. at different sites inside Place des Arts. On the program: poetic performances, a marathon of choreographic improvisation called Poésie en corps, theatrical readings, a concert, a musical workshop, a visual-arts exhibition and the screening of a digital work.  

Nuit de la poésie at Place des Arts in collaboration with UQAM 

Nuit de la poésie is back at Place des Arts for a second year. In collaboration with Université du Québec à Montréal, this initiative will steep you in the atmosphere of similar events that marked Québec literary history in 1970, 1980 and 1991. 

This new edition, orchestrated by curator Marc André Brouillette, poet, writer and UQAM professor, will be brilliant and powerful, with the focus this time more on student creation. The UQAM Department of Literary Studies, its Graduate School of Theatre, its School of Visual Arts and its School of Dance will all be on the job simultaneously. 

Separated into three components, the evening will present poetry readings, Poésie en corps, a choreographic marathon on poems from the soundtrack of the 1991Nuit de la poésie, and the unveiling of a media work. 

A four-hour true celebration of poetry! Accompanied by Yves Léveillé, musician and lecturer at UQAM, and his musical ensemble, more than thirty poets from different  generations and cultures will share their love of words. Among them, you will find the words of the guest of honor Joséphine Bacon, an Innu poet currently senior in residence at UQAM as well as two student prizewinners at a competition held by UQAM’s Department of Literary Studies. A chorus made up of artists from UQAM’s Graduate School of Theatre will add even more vim to the evening. 

So this is your chance to (re)discover the extraordinary voices of Martine Audet, Oana Avasilichioaei, Joséphine Bacon, Geneviève Blais, Denise Brassard, Nicole Brossard, Maya Cousineau Mollen, Carole David, Nicholas Dawson, Nelly Desmarais, Névé Dumas, Laura Doyle Péan, Renée Gagnon, Gabrielle Giasson Dulude, Benoit Jutras, Mélissa Labonté, Annie Lafleur, Catherine Lalonde, Jonathan Lamy, Thimotée-William Lapointe, Rachel McCrum, Sarah-Louise Pelletier-Morin, Marie-Hélène Racine, Diane Régimbald, Stéphanie Roussel, Chloé Savoie Bernard, Nour Symon, Élise Turcotte and Ouanessa Younsi along with the two prizewinners from the UQAM competition. 

You may even leave with a book or two by your evening favorites: the bookstore Port de tête will be on hand with works by the guest poets. 

Don’t miss this explosive, transitory event! 

MÉTALLOPHYTES: a digital work by Marie Di Caro and Audrey Grandchamp 

Especially designed for the evening, the digital work entitled MÉTALLOPHYTES will be displayed on the mosaic of screens in Espace culturel George-Émile-Lapalme. Visual artist Marie Di Caro joined her talent to that of poet Audrey Grandchamp to represent those plants that grow in soils contaminated by heavy metals as an archive for a toxicity quickly forgotten once those sites are “rehabilitated.” Thus, their work evokes landscapes shaped by poetic text that addresses essential issues. 

A rich and unique visual experience that combines poetry and environmental concerns! 

Paramètres XXIV exhibit 
 

The annual exhibit Paramètres is presenting student works selected by a jury made up of artists and professors as a way of showcasing the practices of emerging artists. This exhibition underscores the diversity of the practices and approaches taught at UQAM’s School of Visual and Media Arts, as well as students’ commitment and inventiveness. 

The School favors multidiscplinary training, and Paramètres reflects the wealth of its programs in the diversity and quality of the works carried out by its students. 

This year, discover the talent of Molly Bertrand, Francis Boisvert, Aglaë Brown, Domenico D'Aiuto, Zélie Delespierre, Frédéric Dubois, Sydney Guillemette Bacon, Béatrice Hall, Julien Hétu, Sara Jodoin, Véronique Lacroix, Catherine-Audraï Lalonde, Julia Lamarche, Éloïse Loriot-Noël, Mathieu Martin, Xhunaxhi Otero Ortega, Fanny Soudeyns, Yanick Tanguay and Frédérick Trépanier Cossette.  

Kaleidoscope: A Social Media Trinity, by Alejandro Figueroa 

For the 15^th edition of LUMINO, in collaboration with the Quartier des spectacles, the work Kaleidoscope: A Social Media Trinity by artist Alejandro Figueroa is being exhibited at the heart of Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme in Place des Arts. This digital installation reflects the distorted images of humanity projected on social media. Through plays of light and mirrors, the work will lead visitors to reflect on their perception both of others and of themselves on those digital platforms and at the same time about the ever-growing phenomenon of constant connection on our cellphones. 

Enjoy the last chance to contemplate this brilliant creation during Nuit blanche! 

Nuit blanche with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal 
 

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal is offering a percussion discovery tour with a 30-minute concert titled Percussion with Glass: a hypnotic universe, designed to immerse you in the world of the great musician Philip Glass. The contemporary composer’s repertoire will be performed by a quartet of percussionists at Maison symphonique. 

You’ll be able to continue your musical experience with the participatory workshop Ça “pop” avec les percussions! as well as an exhibit of instruments that includes some carillon bells at Espace OSM. 

Nuit blanche at Duceppe with Collège Lionel-Groulx 

The second-year cohort from Collège Lionel-Groulx’s École de Théâtre Professionnel will be presenting a montage of excerpts from three works: Les Glaces, by Rébecca Déraspe, La société des loisirs, by François Archambault, and Table rase by Catherine Chabot. 

These stories will plunge you into reflection on the complexity of human relationships. How do we act when confronted with abuse, with excess, with extremes? A powerful reminder that everyday cruelty is part of our existence. 

This evening was developed under the direction of Sébastien Gauthier, thanks to the provincial Projet d'apprentissage en milieu de travail (Workplace Program), with the collaboration of Collège Lionel-Groulx and the support of Duceppe. 

Complete schedule of Nuit blanche at Place des Arts 

Saturday, March 1, 2025, from 8:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. 

Nuit de la poésie (Poetry Night) 
8:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m., Salon urbain in Place des Arts 

Poésie en corps : Marathon of Choreographic Improvisation 
8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme 

Projection of the digital work MÉTALLOPHYTES 
Continuously, mosaic of screens in Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme 

Paramètres XXIV exhibit 
8:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m, Place des Arts exhibition hall 

Kaleidoscope: A Social Media Trinity 
Continuously, Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme 

Nuit blanche at Duceppe with Collège Lionel-Groulx 
10:30 p.m. to 1:00 a.m, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe 

OSM show Percussion with Glass: a hypnotic universe 
8:30, 9:45, 11:00 p.m., Maison symphonique 
Free admission 

OSM workshop Ça “pop” avec les percussions! 
7:00 to 10:00 p.m., Espace OSM 
Interactive exhibition from 10:15 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. 

Source: 
Communications | Place des Arts 

Press Relations: 
ROY & TURNER | Natalie Dion, ndion@roy-turner.com