Thanks to $2.6 million in new funding from the federal government, Montréal en Histoires is expanding Cité Mémoire, an innovative project that uses technology to bring the city’s history to life for visitors and locals alike.
Through projected tableaux, a mobile application, and augmented- and virtual-reality videos, the non-profit organization’s Cité Mémoire project is the world’s longest video-projection route.
The tableaux are projected on walls at night in locations throughout the downtown that cover a range of milestones in Montreal’s history, including well-known (and lesser-known) characters, or sometimes a local slice of life while viewers follow along on their smartphones with a free dedicated app.
“Narrative or impressionist, touching or amusing, they express our values of coexistence, innovation, tolerance and generosity that are the foundation of our city,” states the Cité Mémoire website.
Examples include the founding of the city, the burning of parliament when Montreal was the capital of the Province of Canada, the founding of the world in the words of the Anishinaabe people, and many more.
With the newly-announced funding from Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, Montréal en Histoires will add routes and tableaux to Cité Mémoire and update its mobile application.
“After the two years we have spent with the pandemic, this major contribution is healthy for the organization, enabling us to develop and enhance our works and routes through the downtown area, as well as right across the entire Île de Montréal area. It is enabling the organization to look to the future with optimism,” said Martin Laviolette, Executive Director and Delegate Producer, Montréal en Histoires in a release.
