About the Partnership

A brief history of an enduring cultural neighbourhood

The present-day Quartier des spectacles largely overlaps the site of Montreal’s former Red Light district, whose history extends back to the beginning of the 19^th century.

At the end of the 1800s, important teaching institutions such as the Bibliothèque Saint-Sulpice and Collège Sainte-Marie moved into the neighbourhood. The Gesù theatre, the neighbourhood’s first cultural establishment, opened its doors in 1865 within Collège Sainte-Marie.

Other theatres followed: the Monument-National, birthplace of francophone professional theatre; the Gayety Theatre in 1912 (today the TNM); and the Théâtre Saint-Denis in 1916. In 1913, the Imperial Cinema was erected on Bleury Street, becoming one of the first “super palaces” to be built in Montreal.

Between the 1920s and the start of the 1960s, the neighbourhood was home to an impressive number of cabarets that headlined famous artists. Montreal garnered a reputation as a fun-loving city, and tourists started to arrive in great numbers. The American Prohibition (1920-1933) increased Montreal’s popularity, but also created conditions that led to the growth of organized crime, prostitution and illegal gaming houses. It is during this time that the neighbourhood was christened the Red Light district.

Beginning in the 1950s, professional theatre started to take hold, notably with the founding of the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. In the 1960s, Montreal experienced a period of unprecedented modernization (the Quiet Revolution). In the neighbourhood, this new energy took shape in the construction of Place des Arts, the metro system (three stations service the Quartier) and in the establishment of Hydro-Québec’s headquarters.

The following decade was marked by the building of Complexe Desjardins, which spurred commercial activity in the area, and the campus of the Université du Québec à Montréal, a university founded on the values of the democratization of knowledge and culture.

Meanwhile, the network of performance venues expanded and the Cinémathèque québécoise set up on De Maisonneuve Boulevard in 1982. That same year, the Montreal International Jazz Festival presented outdoor concerts in the neighbourhood for the first time. The natural vibrancy of the downtown area along with the many empty lots supported the proliferation and expansion of festivals over the years. Important cultural events became one of the Quartier’s motors and one of the principal attractions of the city for tourists and locals alike.

During the 1990s, the landscape changed once again with the opening of the Pierre-Mercure performance venue, the Musée d’art contemporain, the Société des arts technologiques and Club Soda while the TNM underwent a complete renovation. To this day, the neighbourhood continues to draw cultural establishments and organizations.

This cultural flourishing laid the foundations of the Quartier des spectacles.

The Quartier des spectacles project

In 2001, one year before the Montreal Summit – a major meeting that aimed to define a common vision for the future of Montreal – a number of representatives from the cultural sector came together at the ADISQ offices to consider what proposals they could bring forward to energize Montreal’s cultural scene. The result of this reflection was the idea to create a Quartier des spectacles (QDS), positioning culture as a key development tool for Montreal.

At the Summit, the City of Montreal made the QDS a top priority, with the goal of establishing the presence of major festivals in the downtown area and showcasing its cultural institutions and performance venues. The task at hand was not to create a neighbourhood from scratch, but rather to identify it, highlight its rich cultural assets and equip it with the infrastructure to accommodate outdoor events. The Équipe Spectra, which is behind the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Francos, also advocated for the sustainability of public spaces and grounds around Place des Arts for festivals and outdoor events. Their approach for a festival-friendly neighbourhood was integrated into the grand Quartier des spectacles project as it will be built in 2007.

One year later, the Quartier des spectacles Partnership was founded, with 20 stakeholder members. Extensive consultations were begun in order to develop a vision for the Quartier’s expansion.

During the Rendez-vous 2007 – Montréal, the City of Montreal and provincial and federal governments gave the project a further boost when they committed to fund the development of the Place des Arts sector. Since then, new public spaces have been created (the Place des Festivals, Parterre, Promenade des Artistes) and many private and public real estate projects have been built, including several with a cultural focus, notably the 2-22 and the Maison symphonique de Montréal. The Partnership was then given the responsibility by the city to promote the destination, manage its public spaces and bring them to life.

For the last few years, the Partnership has thus been responsible for activities at the neighbourhood’s public spaces. It manages not only the calendar of events – the Quartier hosts over 40 events each year alone – but contributes to enhancing the outdoor cultural offering through its own projects as well as logistical and financial support of other initiatives. This mandate is carried out with the constant aim of endowing the Quartier with a distinctive identity grounded in creativity and daring.

Vision: Live, Learn, Create and Entertain Downtown

To develop this vibrant downtown neighbourhood, members of the Partnership have collaborated to create a vision focused on enhancing its cultural assets.

Quartier des spectacles Partnership

Created in 2003, the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is a not-for-profit organization that brings together some 85 members who are active on its territory. Its board is composed of representatives from the cultural, institutional, educational and business sectors, the city of Montreal as well as local residents. The Quartier des spectacles allows the key stakeholders on its territory to combine their efforts and act in concert. It is supported by the City of Montreal as well as diverse partners.

An ambitious mission

The mission of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership is to actively contribute, in collaboration with public authorities and various area stakeholders, to the development and promotion of the cultural value of the Quartier by integrating urban, touristic, social and economic considerations into every one of its actions.

During the first few years, the Partnership formed its vision for the area’s development, defined the visual identity and implemented the Quartier’s very first collective projects. Since the completion of the new public spaces in 2009, the Partnership has fulfilled a broader mission focused more on operational concerns. It now oversees the Quartier’s activities through cultural programming, the management of the public spaces and enhancement of the general cultural offering.

Its actions aim to:

• enrich and preserve the Quartier’s cultural assets, notably those related to the performing arts and performance venues;
• create a vibrant Quartier through the programming of cultural activities in addition to the existing offer;
• manage the public spaces and specialized facilities used for cultural activities;
• illuminate the Quartier des Spectacles with artistic lighting;
• promote and develop the Quartier des Spectacles as the heart of Montreal, an international tourist destination.

View the list of our productions

Board of directors

Monique Simard* | Chair

Glenn Castanheira* | Vice-chair | Montréal Centre-Ville

Marie-Josée Desrochers* | Vice-chair | Place des Arts

Christian Lecours* | Treasurer | EY

Jenny Thibault* | Secretary General | Société des arts technologiques (SAT)

Priscilla Ananian | Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)

Josée Bérubé | Provencher_Roy

Jessica Bouchard | Chambre de commerce du Montréal Métropolitain (CCMM)

Guilhem Caillard | Festival Cinémania

André Dudemaine | Terres en vues

Simon Gamache | Fierté Montréal

Suzanne Guèvremont | Office national du film du Canada (ONF)

Jorge Herrera | Table de concertation du Faubourg Saint-Laurent

Gregory Kunz | Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ)

Louise Laliberté | Festival international de Jazz de Montréal

Kerlande Mibel | Forum économique international des Noirs

Joseph Nakhlé | Festival du Monde arabe

Eve Paré | ADISQ

Jenny Thibault* | Société des arts technologiques (SAT)

Paul Harry Toussaint | Travailleur culturel - Kamúy

Observers

Valérie Beaulieu
Ville de Montréal

Melissa Lapierre-Grano
Arrondissement de Ville-Marie – Ville de Montréal

Nathalie Leblanc
Ministère de la Culture et des Communications du Québec

Bruno Jobin
Ville de Montréal

*Members of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership’s Executive Committee

Six active committees

Members

Leila Amiri | Foufounes Électriques
Priscilla Ananian | Université du Québec à Montréal
Xavier Auclair | Les Productions Gamago Inc. / Club Soda
Line Basbous | La Lutinerie de Montréal
Christian Beauchesne | École des arts numériques, de l'animation et du design (NAD) de l'UQAC
Pascale Bélanger | MONTRÉAL COMPLÈTEMENT CIRQUE
Julie Bergeron | Productions Jacques K. Primeau
Francine Bernier | Agora de la danse
Josée Bérubé | Provencher_Roy
Manon Blanchette | Cinéma Impérial
Isabelle Boisclair | Maison Théâtre
Jessica Bouchard | Chambre de commerce du Montréal Métropolitain
Patricia Bouchard | Corporation d'habitation Jeanne-Mance
Patricia Brissette | Evenko G.P
Teresa Cafagna | Delta Montréal par Marriott
Guilhem Caillard | CINEMANIA
Glenn Castanheira | Montréal Centre-Ville
Jean-Claude Chabot | Compagnie France Film Inc.
Alain Chartrand | Coup de cœur francophone
Jennifer Chevallier | Double Tree par Hilton Montréal
Philippe Cholette| Hôtel Zéro 1
Michelle Corbeil | Festival international de la littérature
Christine Curnillon | Groupe Le Vivier
Jean-François Daviau | Festival M.A.D
Annie Derome | Prével
Pierre Des Marais | Danse Danse
Marie-Josée Desrochers | Place des Arts
Jeanne Doré | CIBL
Jennifer Dorner | Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal (MAC)
Claudel Doucet | LA SERRE arts vivants
Elizabeth-Ann Doyle | MU
Amélie Duceppe | Compagnie Jean Duceppe
André Dudemaine | Terres en Vues
Nassib El-Husseini | Les 7 doigts de la main
Nadja Furth | Goethe-Institut
Simon Gamache | Fierté Montréal
Catherine Girard Lantagne | Humour et Innovations
Manuela Goya | Tourisme Montréal
Suzanne Guèvremont | Office national du film du Canada
Jean-François Guindon | PRESTE
Jean Hamel | L'institut national de l'image et du son
John Hatzitzanakis | Le Newspeak
Jorge Herrera | Table de concertation du Faubourg Saint-Laurent
Marcel Jean | Cinémathèque québécoise
Marie-Josée Jean | Vox
Grégory Kunz | Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
Stéphane Labbé | Tangente
Annabelle Laliberté | MEM - Centre des mémoires montréalaises
Louise Laliberté | Festival international de Jazz de Montréal
Marc Lalonde | Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Étienne Langlois | Théâtre du Nouveau Monde
Christian Lecours | EY
Mark Louch | Théâtre Sainte Catherine
Arnaud Marion-Vinet | Studio TD
Kerlande Mibel | Forum économique international des Noirs
Alain Mongeau | Festival MUTEK
Brigitte Monneau | SYNTHÈSE Pôle Image Québec
Joseph Nakhlé | Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal (FMA)
Nayla Naoufal | Festival Accès Asie
Sébastien Nasra | Antenne Créative / HUB Montréal
Sandra O'Connor | Festival TransAmériques
Pierre Papillier | Le Central Montréal Gastronomie inc.
Eve Paré | ADISQ
Alexandre Piché | Théâtre de la Ligue Nationale d'Improvisation
Nathalie Pomerleau | Gestion immobilière Desjardins
Sylvie Quenneville | Fondation Québec Cinéma
François Raymond | Société de développement social
Christine Redfern | Ellephant
Jean-Philippe Renaut | Maison du développement durable
Julien Robitaille | Le Balcon
Yves Rocray | École de danse contemporaine de Montréal
Suzanne Rousseau | Production Nuits d'Afrique
Annie Roy | ATSA
Rafik Hubert Sabbagh | Festival Quartiers Danses
Francesca Sacerdoti | ItalfestMTL
Kathia St-Jean | La Vitrine
Jules Saint-Michel | Jules Saint-Michel Luthier
Marie-Anne Sauvé | Hydro-Québec
Daniel Séguin | Cinéplex Divertissement
Monique Simard | Présidente du CA du Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles
Daniel Simoncic | Le Gesù
Maximilien Stapf | Kin Experience
Jenny Thibault | Société des arts technologiques
Paul Toussaint | Travailleur culturel
Julien Vaillancourt Laliberté | Société de développement du Quartier latin
Marie-Pier Veilleux | Moment Factory
Fabienne Voisin | Orchestre Métropolitain
Jennifer-Ann Weir | MAPP_MTL

HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER OF THE PARTNERSHIP?

Join a vibrant community and contribute to the cultural, urban, social and economic development of the Quartier des Spectacles.