The 1st Edition of Printemps numérique in Montréal: A Resounding Success!

In three months, more than 100,000 people took part in activities included in Printemps numérique. In addition, coverage in traditional media and intense activity on social media attracted a broad public to Montréal’s digital universe. For a first edition, it was a very great success. That was the assessment made by spokesperson Mouna Andraos during the closing of the project, which brought together nearly 200 people last night at the Société des arts technologiques in the presence of Québec Minister of Culture and Communications Hélène David.

Initiated by the Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) de Montréal, with the collaboration of more than 70 organizations and numerous institutional and media partners, Printemps numérique represents a vast federation of actors from Montréal’s digital scene. Its aim is, among other things, to help the general public, both here and elsewhere, better appreciate the full power of the metropolis’s digital creativity. Montréal has the privilege of drawing on an exceptional pool of highly talented creators, and that is particularly true in the digital field. Mouna Andraos stated that Montréal is a world-recognized capital in digital arts, as well as in the video-game and special-effects industries. Montréal is digital, and the project is pleased to help consolidate that position.

The program included more than 77 events comprising a myriad of varied activities: interactive spaces, immersive experiences, openings, visual and sound performances, studio visits, screenings and public installations. The whole took the form of a crescendo culminating in May with several international-scale events, including the Biennale des arts numériques, the International Symposium on Immersive Creativity, the impressive tribute to Norman McLaren entitled Mur à Mur, the sixth edition of the Sight & Sound Festival and the fifteenth edition of the combined Elektra and MUTEK festivals, EM15, which alone welcomed 52,000 festivalgoers.

The digital universe is attracting increasing interest, and the scale of the mobilization of Montréal’s living forces around Printemps numérique is an eloquent demonstration of that. In addition to producers and presenters in digital arts, the wide variety of actors involved in mediation, awareness-raising and promotion is remarkable: museums, universities, maisons de la culture, Culture Montréal, Aéroports de Montréal, the start-ups of Maison Notman, Techno Montréal and Execution Lab with Alliance numérique.

Although it was in its first year, Printemps numérique succeeded in rallying the support and active participation of important institutional and media partners: the Conseil des arts de Montréal, the Ville de Montréal, La Vitrine, Tourisme Montréal, the Délégations du Québec, Métro newspaper, CIBL radio, ICI ARTV, Destination centre-ville, Inspiro, Le Lien Multimédia, CTVM.info and ETC magazine. Richard Deschamps, first vice-president of the CRÉ de Montréal, concluded that the initial ambition had simply been to highlight, through a first edition, a sector in which the region asserts itself as an international leader but that remains little known to certain segments of the population. The organizers were very impressed by the scale of the community’s mobilization and the season’s impact. They have created an extraordinary visibility tool, and it is now up to everyone to help it grow in the years ahead.

About Printemps numérique.

The first edition of

Printemps numérique includes more than 77 events, many of which unfold into numerous activities taking place from March 21 to June 21, 2014. As a capital of digital arts, Montréal offers amateurs and casual visitors a season of discovery: interactive spaces, visual and sound performances, immersive experiences, 3D production, cutting-edge electronic music, installations, studio visits, openings, international-calibre events and contemporary creation where disciplines are remixed. Complete program: www.printempsnumerique.ca.

About the CRÉ

de Montréal. As the Government of

Québec’s preferred interlocutor in regional development, the Conférence régionale des élus (CRÉ) de Montréal brings together political and socio-economic leaders from the island of Montréal. Its mandate is to foster the development of its territory through a concerted approach. It is financially supported by the Government of Québec through agreements administered by the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine.