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Evoking some 30 eras in the city’s history, Cité Mémoire invites you to meet a host of characters – both the famed and the unfamiliar – who’ve witnessed the city’s evolution first-hand. “Cité Mémoire was born of our deep desire to unearth the hearts and souls of the figures who built and lived in Montreal, this curious, perceptive, clever city that we so love. And above all, to celebrate our connection – singly and severally – with our history,” said the originators and directors, Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, adding “The Cité Mémoire project started with walking. By strolling through the streets of the old city, we infiltrated its walls. The heart of the past was still beating, right there, under the skin of the present. It asked only to be revealed.” Cité Mémoire pays tribute to Montreal – receptive, perceptive, sensitive, progressive – and, above all, to the human beings peopling it in the present, who founded it in the past, and who will dream it into existence tomorrow. “BMO Financial Group is proud to contribute to this permanent, free and accessible community education initiative that will continue to fascinate fellow citizens and tourists alike for years to come,” said L. Jacques Ménard, President of BMO Financial Group, Quebec, and Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns, adding “This is our way of demonstrating our attachment to Montreal and our involvement in the celebrations marking the 375th anniversary of our city, which happens to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the Bank of Montreal, the first bank in Canada.”

Through an urban multimedia experience – the only one of its kind in the world – visitors stroll through the city’s historic quarter with the free mobile app Montréal en Histoires, which provides the work’s entire soundtrack as well as the historical context for each tableau in four languages (English, French, Spanish and Mandarin). Available 24 hours a day, the app makes it possible for users to experience over 80 historical segments in augmented reality and at points of interest in Old Montreal.

“Cité Mémoire is a vision, a legacy, a love song to the city, a human endeavour, a celebration of Montreal, and, above all, a chance to see the fruits of an extraordinary collaboration between Michel Lemieux, Victor Pilon and Michel Marc Bouchard. Cité Mémoire is a groundbreaking work that will leave its mark on all those who see it,” said Martin Laviolette, Executive Director and Producer of Montréal en Histoires.

This original large-scale work calls on wide-ranging fields of expertise: the arts, civic heritage, technology, technical production, history, and much, much more. Over 800 people contributed to the completion of this major project, including some 400 artists and craftspeople. With over eighty projectors and a permanent technological park the size of Old Montreal, the largest outdoor video-projection installation in the world will broadcast the city’s history each and every night. This technical, technological feat is enhanced by a free Wi-Fi network – Mtl WiFi – accessible to all. In order to optimize the experience, visitors are invited to download the Montréal en Histoires app and its content in advance, prior to visiting Old Montreal. They can also take their evening stroll at any time, or wander throughout Montreal’s storied streets, trusting their Cité Mémoire experience to chance. Signposts punctuate the landscape to guide visitors through the work.

montrealenhistoires.com/citememoire

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