Lumino lights up winter
for its 16th edition
An open-air museum with 35 luminous, interactive works
Via v2com
December 26, 2025
LUMINO is back for its 16th edition, reaffirming Montréal’s reputation as a leading winter city of light. Until March 8, 2026, the luminous circuit will once again transform the Quartier des spectacles and downtown Montréal into a vast open-air museum.
The event features 35 illuminated installations spread across more than 15 indoor and outdoor sites, all open to the public free of charge.
Following a record 1.5 million visitors last year, LUMINO has solidified its status as a must-see event for both Montréalers and visitors from across Québec and abroad. This year’s program includes 35 installations—19 of them premieres in Montréal and 23 created by Québec artists.
The event unfolds in three phases: it begins during the holiday season, intensifies in January with the addition of major new works, and culminates with a special program during spring break in March, encouraging visitors to return throughout the winter.
Launched more than fifteen years ago by the Quartier des spectacles Partnership, LUMINO is an open-air laboratory where artists can explore the interplay of light, sound, architecture, and audience participation. The installations transform how we see winter and the urban space, offering playful or contemplative experiences that rekindle the joy of strolling outdoors despite the cold.
A key aspect of LUMINO lies in the dialogue it creates between public art, tourism, and the hotel industry. One of the best examples is Les Voyageurs by Cédric Le Borgne—a series of luminous figures suspended outside five downtown hotels*, forming a visual thread that connects these establishments to the public realm.
These poetic silhouettes, visible from the street, invite passersby to look up, blurring the line between private and shared spaces and placing light at the very heart of Montréal’s winter urban experience.
Throughout the season, several spectacular installations punctuate downtown and Sainte‑Catherine Street West. The French studio TILT, for instance, presents Anemonia and Shadow—two luminous sculptures inspired by the plant and marine worlds that engage in a gentle dialogue with the architectural rhythm of the city’s commercial and cultural core.
‘The circuit transforms the Quartier des spectacles and downtown Montréal into a vast open-air museum.’
In front of Place des Arts, Unicode Haiku Extension by Fred Sapey‑Triomphe makes light and poetry resonate in perfect harmony, while Sagesse de foule by Ottomata invites visitors to warm up by testing their reflexes and turning a simple pause into an engaging, participatory moment.
The luminous trail extends to some of Montréal’s most emblematic cultural and event venues. At the Palais des congrès, Celestia, a creation by Studio KLEIS, evokes the constellation of the Pleiades, playing delicately with the building’s interior volumes and translucent architecture.
At the Eaton Centre Montréal, Entre maintenant et l’infini by Jeremy Shantz carves out a quiet, contemplative space amid the city’s commercial pulse. The work captures a sense of stillness and reflection, revealing how LUMINO seeps into everyday life and gently reclaims the familiar—turning a shopping corridor into a moment of pause and wonder.
Three original video projections inspired by the shifting shades of winter—Rêve retrouvé by Iana Brezeky, Le potentiel des épidermes entrelacés by Marie‑Ève Drolet, and Codex by Teo Leroo—animate the Quartier des spectacles, transforming towering façades into ephemeral screens where art flickers, breathes, and fades with the night.
Further north, at Esplanade Tranquille, Le coffre à jouets dégivré, an interactive projection by Ottomata and Doki, will light up the skating rink starting January 15. Here, skaters glide through a luminous dreamscape of toys and childhood memories—a playful choreography of movement, colour, and nostalgia that captures the spirit of Montréal’s winter imagination.
On the Esplanade of Place des Arts, two standout projects capture the rich emotional range at the heart of LUMINO. Vulnérable, by Michel Lemieux, offers an interactive experience where the audience’s gestures transform projected avatars into shifting silhouettes, exploring with sensitivity the theme of body and presence.
Nearby, Stargate—a sculptural creation by Chalk River Labs—uses video mapping to wrap a large ring in hypnotic projections. Visitors are invited to step inside the structure to capture dazzling images, a spectacle that has become something of a social media ritual.
More to come in January
Beginning in January, the lineup expands to include new major works. In a world premiere, Climat intérieur by the Mirari collective will be presented on rue Émery in the Quartier Latin. At the same time, ChronoHarp, a monumental illuminated harp by the Australian studio Amigo & Amigo, will take centre stage on the Promenade des Artistes—inviting the public to quite literally “play” with light.
At Esplanade PVM, Horizon by Olivier Landreville unfolds a landscape of glowing cocoons and dreamlike perspectives, while Parallèles by Studio Transversal combines illuminated structures with video projection on a nearby façade close to the Saint‑Laurent metro station.
In the Quartier Latin, End over End by Studio Vertigo—a giant, slinky‑like sculpture—spans the Gamelin Slides, while Phosphorescence by Pauline Loctin floats above Place Pasteur, its suspended form radiating light and framing a student‑led performance series from UQAM’s emerging artists.
By blending local creation, international collaborations, and partner programming, LUMINO weaves a winter narrative that extends far beyond the Quartier des spectacles, intertwining with the broader cultural ecosystem of Montréal’s downtown core.
‘LUMINO reminds Montréal that winter is not only to be endured but embraced—a luminous canvas on which imagination and a sense of togetherness flourish.’
More than an annual celebration of light, LUMINO has become part of Montréal’s winter identity. This shared ritual invites residents and visitors alike to rediscover the city through curiosity and play. Each installation, whether monumental or intimate, transforms the cold season into a living gallery, where architecture, art, and emotion converge.
About LUMINO
LUMINO is produced by the Quartier des spectacles Partnership, with the support of the City of Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, and the Government of Québec, notably through the Fonds signature métropole. The event relies on an extensive network of co-presenters—from the Palais des congrès to Place Ville Marie, including the Complexe Desjardins, the Eaton Centre Montréal, several downtown hotels*, MEM – Centre des mémoires montréalaises, and UQAM—all of whom help keep this luminous journey alive each day.
*HoneyRose, Fairmont Le Reine Elizabeth, DoubleTree by Hilton Montréal, Montréal Marriott Château Champlain et Hyatt Place Montréal Centre-Ville
Images: Ulysse Lemerise / OSA
