PUBLIC ART
AFTER DARK

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In a city that has never shied away from winter, LUMINO does something quietly radical. It does not ask visitors to endure the cold, but to inhabit it. Running through March 8, 2026, this free urban experience transforms the Quartier des Spectacles and downtown Montréal into a living gallery of light, movement, and imagination, where art becomes both compass and companion in the darkest months of the year.

Now in its sixteenth edition, LUMINO presents 35 works spread across more than 15 indoor and outdoor locations, including 19 original creations unveiled for the first time in Montréal and 23 installations by Québec artists. The program unfolds in seasonal chapters, launching during the holiday period, expanding with major new works in January, and culminating in special programming during March break. The result is a festival that evolves with the winter itself, rewarding repeat visits and prolonged engagement.

What distinguishes LUMINO is its insistence on participation. Works are not simply observed; they are activated by bodies in motion, by curiosity, by play. Luminous figures float above downtown hotels in Cédric Le Borgne’s Les Voyageurs, blurring the line between dream and architecture. Along Sainte-Catherine Street, marine inspired sculptures by TILT Studio glow with otherworldly calm, while interactive installations invite reflex, movement, and laughter into the public realm.

Video projections remain central to the experience, bathing façades in shifting color and rhythm. Elsewhere, monumental works invite touch and sound, including a luminous harp played by the public and sculptural environments that respond to movement. Throughout, winter is reframed not as obstacle, but as medium.

With 1.5 million visitors last year, LUMINO has become an international reference point for winter animation, a testament to Montréal’s belief that public art can be generous, ambitious, and accessible. As Monique Simard of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership has noted, LUMINO does more than animate the city. It transforms how we see winter itself.

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