History of Place des Arts

Place des Arts: a multipurpose cultural complex

Place des Arts was inaugurated during a period that would prove to be one of Montréal’s most prolific in terms of major construction projects that went on to change the metropolitan landscape. Place Ville-Marie, Place Bonaventure, the Metropolitan Expressway, the Metro, the Stock Exchange Tower, Expo 67, Île Notre-Dame, and Habitat 67 all rose from the dust during the 1960s in Montréal, as did Place des Arts, which welcomed its first spectators on September 21, 1963.

Classified as a building of exceptional heritage value, Place des Arts—which has become an all-important cultural hub—was born of the desire of Montrealers to endow themselves with a concert hall that lived up to the city’s expectations. In 1955, at the initiative of Montréal’s mayor, Jean Drapeau, a group of influential businessmen laid the foundation for the project. The Centre Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier Corporation was officially created in 1958 and it was through this entity that the project was taken to completion. Construction began on February 11, 1961.

Made up today of five performance halls comprising of a total of 6,000 seats, Place des Arts also includes rehearsal halls, a costume workshop, warehouses, and office space that make it a true crossroads of Montréal and Québec cultural life, located at the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles in Montréal.

Highlights

The inaugural concert at Place des Arts took place on September 21, 1963 and was led by two eminent conductors, Wilfrid Pelletier and Zubin Mehta, in the Grande Salle. Fitted out with 2,990 seats, this hall was renamed Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in 1966, as a tribute to the famous Montréal-born conductor.

In 1964, the Centre Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier Corporation was dissolved and replaced by the Régie de la Place des Arts, which in 1982 became the Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal, reporting since that time to Québec’s Minister of Cultural Affairs, today the Minister of Culture, Communications, and the Status of Women.

In 1966, the Place-des-Arts Metro station was inaugurated as part of the official opening of Montréal’s subway system. The following year, in order to allow for the hosting of the World Festival of Entertainment—a major cultural event taking place concurrent to Expo 67—the Place des Arts complex was enhanced by the addition of the Theatre Building, housing Théâtre Maisonneuve and Théâtre Port-Royal. A modern version of a theatre in the Italian style, Théâtre Maisonneuve was inaugurated on April 30 by Jean-Louis Barrault and his troupe Théâtre de France Renaud-Barrault, who—along with the Théâtre du Nouveau Monde troupe—performed a programme entitled Saint-Exupéry. This hall can seat 1,453 spectators.

Théâtre Port-Royal was officially inaugurated on May 3 with the McGill Chamber Orchestra and flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal. However, the first performance to have actually taken place in the hall was on the previous evening, on May 2, by Haile Selassie I’s folk theatre ensemble, under the presidency of the Emperor of Ethiopia. Théâtre Port-Royal is today called Théâtre Jean-Duceppe, in honour of the well-known man of the theatre, founder of the company that bears his name. This hall has a seating capacity of 765, with tiered seats offering a great view of its exceptionally wide stage measuring 42 by 17 metres.

Théâtre du Café de la Place was inaugurated in November 1978; this hall is now called Studio-théâtre and can seat 128 spectators, making it an intimate space in which to feature theatrical performances and showcases by singer-songwriters.

As for Place des Arts’ Cinquième salle, dedicated to contemporary artistic expression, it was inaugurated on May 29, 1992 and includes 421 seats. That same year, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal opened its doors on the Place des Arts plaza. In 1993, a joint inauguration served to highlight Place des Arts’ outdoor Esplanade and the museum’s Sculpture Garden.

The Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal has been the owner and administrator of the Amphithéâtre de Lanaudière in Joliette since 1995. This outdoor amphitheatre, known for its great acoustics, can hold 2,000 spectators under its covered portion and an additional 8,000 on its lawn. Each year, the Festival de Lanaudière—the largest classical music event in the country—welcomes thousands of people to the amphitheatre. Place des Arts is also in charge of the artistic programming in this performance space during off-festival periods.

A promising future

The years to come will again see the face of Place des Arts undergo a few changes. Montréal’s new concert hall, mainly intended for performances by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and called L’Adresse symphonique, will be built on the Place des Arts site. Its inauguration is scheduled in 2011.

As for the Hall des Pas perdus, it will be transformed into the Grand Foyer culturel becoming, by 2010, an indoor public space bustling with performances, exhibitions, and lectures. Lastly, the outdoor Esplanade will be getting new lighting thanks to a lighting plan carried out through a partnership with the Quartier des Spectacles.

A full range of artistic expression

Place des Arts’ mission is to promote artistic and cultural life in Québec, and to provide increased accessibility to various forms of performing arts. Since its inauguration, it has welcomed artists from around the world into its halls and onto its stages. It now presents over 1,000 performances each year, welcomes close to a million spectators into its halls, and offers programming showcasing the full range of artistic expression.

With the collaboration of hundreds of producers, it stages performances of Québec, Canadian, and foreign classical music, opera, jazz, theatre, dance in all its forms, song, pop music, comedy, world music, musicals, literature, and film. Playing an increased role in producing shows, Place des Arts more and more frequently acts as a co-producer or co-presenter of various events and programmes.

Place des Arts provides a residence to four major arts organizations: the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Opéra de Montréal, Les Grands Ballets canadiens de Montréal, and Compagnie Jean-Duceppe, all of which contribute to enhancing the institution’s cultural programming. In addition, since 1995, the Société pour l’avancement de la chanson d’expression française (SACEF) has produced and presented the new generation of singer-songwriters in the Studio-théâtre, and the O Vertigo dance company has had its creative centre and administrative offices located at Place des Arts since 2005. Lastly, Montréal’s Vitrine culturelle has both its administrative office and a well-established box office on the premises.

Place des Arts is also host to major international festivals including the Festival international de Jazz de Montréal, the Just for Laughs Festival, Les FrancoFolies de Montréal, the World Film Festival, the Montréal High Lights Festival, the Festival TransAmériques, and the Festival du monde arabe de Montréal, presenting their activities in its halls and on the outdoor Esplanade. Each year, Place des Arts welcomes over four million spectators into its halls and to its outdoor stages.

For several years now, the Société de la Place des Arts has increased its efforts in matters regarding the development of its social role, cultural democratization, and increased accessibility to the arts. Through its Accessibility to Performing Arts Programme, it makes use of an array of activities ranging from open opera dress rehearsals and lectures by choreographers, to performances by the up-and-coming generation of French-language singer-songwriters and exhibitions in the Hall des Pas perdus. The Mélodînes series, the Studio littéraire, Sons et brioches, Les week-ends de la chanson Quebecor, the Ma première Place des Arts competition, the All-Nighter, International Dance Day, and the Journées de la culture are all part of this eclectic programming.

At the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles, Place des Arts remains an essential communications link between creators, producers, and the public. Playing a major role in the development of performing arts from both home and abroad, Place des Arts—through the integration of all of its halls into an architectural whole, and through the programming it presents—forms the largest multipurpose cultural complex in Canada.

Place des Arts’ collection of artwork

In addition to the artwork that is part of its architecture, Place des Arts also has a permanent collection that mainly includes works by renowned Canadian and foreign artists such as Jean-Paul Riopelle, Charles Daudelin, Marcelle Ferron, Serge Lemoyne, and Rita Letendre, to name but a few. The collection was built up beginning in 1976, mostly through the donations of patrons from Québec.

The most frequently noticed works remain those that were created at the time of the architectural complex’s construction, in 1963. Les Anges radieux by Louis Archambault, a wall installation made of a copper and zinc alloy that can be seen in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier’s Piano Nobile, is made up of three 15.5 by 2.7 metre elements, each weighing 680 kg.

Alfred Pellan’s glass mural, behind the Piano Nobile in Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier’s foyer, is made up of nine panels covering a surface of 2.8 by 5.4 metres. The artist made use of a montage of overlaid glass evoking stained glass windows.

The ceramic high-reliefs created by Jordi Bonet that are mounted over the eight doors leading into Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier were incorporated into the building’s architecture in a remarkable way. Two subjects very dear to the artist inspired these compositions, called Amor: love and fertility.

Two tapestries dating to 1963 are also among the important works in Place des Arts’ collection: La Chute d’Icare, a tapestry on canvas, created by Micheline Beauchemin, and Orphée et Dionysos sur les bords du Styx, a work by Robert Lapalme. Micheline Beauchemin also created Rideau de verre, couleurs du temps, a work consisting of 300,000 clear acrylic blocks held together on stainless steel wires hanging in the majestic windows of Théâtre Maisonneuve’s main foyer.

At Théâtre Maisonneuve, one can also see Louise Lemieux-Bérubé’s striking tapestry entitled Le Dernier Déjeuner sur l'herbe, inspired by the choreographic work La Cérémonie by Fernand Nault. In Foyer Jean-Gascon, a bronze by sculptress Elizabeth MacQueen depicts dancer Jorge Donn, immortalized in a spectacular grand jeté. Since 2008, twelve stage sets designed by Jean-Pierre Perreault have been part of a permanent exhibit: they include six elements from the production Eironos and six other set designs for the production Les Années de pèlerinage.

Each summer since 2003, an artist or group of artists has been given the mandate to create a work that is installed in the Esplanade pool as part of Place des Arts’ Ephemeral Artwork Competition.

A complete inventory was recently made of Place des Arts’ collection, and certain works are currently in the process of being restored. Some sixty artists have created the works in the collection.

Place des Arts’ logo

It was in 1960 that a member of the Board of Directors, Claude Robillard, proposed the idea of holding a public competition for the choice of a symbol to identify the architectural complex. Some one hundred projects were submitted meeting the following criteria: the symbol had to include three fundamental elements, that is, the three performance halls in the initial project. Gilles Robert, a professor of graphic arts in Montréal, was the winner. His sketch was an interlaced design based on the letter A, the first letter in the word Art. Three interlocking coloured spots represented Place des Arts’ three main performance halls. While remaining true to the original design, Place des Arts’ logo was updated twice: in 1992 by Pierre-Yves Pelletier, who gave the A a more stylized look, and on the occasion of the institution’s 40th anniversary, when the logo was rejuvenated by the placement of the stylized letter in a circle and the addition of the Place des Arts name.

Chairs, General Directors, and members of the Board of Directors of Place des Arts

Artists in the collection of visual artwork

Ephemeral artwork and its designers

Place des Arts’ Architects

Artists who have performed at Place des Arts

Classical Music
Opera
Singers
Humour and Variety
Musicals
Dance
Jazz and World Music
Festivals

Chairs, General Directors, and members of the Board of Directors of Place des Arts

Chairs

Until 1963    Louis-A. Lapointe
1963-1968    Me François Mercier
1968-1972    Me Marcel Piché
1972-1974    Raymond Crépault
1974-1982    Me Jean-Claude Delorme
1982-1987    Guy Joron
1988-1992    Danièle Touchette Robitaille
1992-1995    Roger D. Landry
1995-2002    Me Clément Richard
2002-2003    Normand Legault
2003-2004    Judge Alan B. Gold
2004-2008    François Macerola
2008-           Jean Laurin

Dr. Wilfrid Pelletier (Lifetime Honorary Chair)

General Directors

Until 1964    Maurice Germain
1964-1986   Gérard Lamarche
1986-1993   Guy Morin
1993-1994   Roger D. Landry
1994-2000   France Fortin
2000-2001   Clément Richard
2001-2012   Marie Lavigne
2012-          Marc Blondeau

Members of the Boards of Directors of the Centre Sir-George-Étienne-Cartier Corporation

From 1956 to 1964

Jules Bazin
Guy Beaulne
Roland Bock
Augustin Brassard
Samuel Bronfman
A.-J. Campbell
Albert Castonguay
Vincent Chené
Nantel David
Régent Desjardins
Jean-Louis Doucet
Jean Drapeau
Jean Dupire
Armand Dupuis
Guy Frégault
Paul Gouin
George Gould
Graham Gould
Jean-C. Lallemand
Claude Laurence
Robert Letendre
Roger Martel
Roger Mathieu
Cecil J. McDougall
J. Bartlett Morgan
Jean Octeau
Herbert J. O’Connell
Roland Paquette
Claude Robillard
John P. Rowat
Charles Roy
Paul-Émile Sénécal
John Lynch Staunton
Roy E. Wagar

Members of the Boards of Directors of the Régie and Société de la Place des Arts de Montréal

From 1964 to 2009

Artists in the collection of visual artwork

Ephemeral artwork and its designers

Vert forêt – Éric Sauvé, in 2003
La Ville aux animaux – Jean-François Cooke and Pierre Sasseville, in 2004
Alvéole – Marc Dulude, in 2005
Bâtons de prière – Élyse De Lafontaine, in 2006
Se mettre au vert – Francis Montillaud, in 2007
Les Pelleteuses de nuages – Éric Daoust, Jean-François Potvin, and Donald Potvin of BOSSES Design, in 2008
Arc-en-ciel – Philippe Allard and Justin Duchesneau, in 2009

Place des Arts’ Architects

Affleck, Desbarats, Dimakopoulos, Lebensold, Michaud and Sise for La Grande Salle, today called Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, inaugurated in 1963.

David, Barott, Boulva for the Theatre building housing Théâtre Maisonneuve and Théâtre Port-Royal, inaugurated in 1966.

David, Boulva and Cleve for the Théâtre du Café de la Place and the design of the underground corridor leading to Complexe Desjardins, in 1975.

Jodoin Lamarre Pratte and Associates for the Musée d’art contemporain, inaugurated in 1992.

Dimakopoulos and Associates for the outdoor Esplanade, inaugurated in 1993.

Bess Pappas for the renovation of the corridor leading to the Metro and the design of the Hall des Pas perdus, carried out in 1995.

Consortium Menkès, Schooner, Dagenais, Le Tourneux / Provencher, Roy Jean-Pierre Le Tourneux for the Grand Foyer culturel, carried out in 2009-2010.

Artists who have performed at Place des Arts

(Non-exhaustive list)