In Montreal, C2 stands for commerce and creativity, as in C2-MTL, an annual gathering of leading innovators from a broad spectrum of industry who have but one thing on their minds: finding creative answers to commercial questions. And, especially this year, C2 also stands for culture and cool…

Now in its second year, C2-MTL – taking place at Arsenal (a converted shipyard built in 1846), May 21-23 – fairly explodes the notion of the traditional business conference. No soul-destroying PowerPoint presentations here. Instead, 20 internationally renowned keynote speakers from a multiplicity of disciplines – including, for example, Virgin’s Richard Branson, former supermodel and now business exec Elle Macpherson, and French architect and designer Philippe Starck – sharing their experience vis-à-vis immersive multimedia presentations.

An imaginative array of panel discussions, collaborative workshops, interactive exhibits, conceptual spaces and festive events all serve to augment the emphasis on creating next-level networking opportunities and real-world business solutions. Which is to say stimulation, not simulation.

C2-MTL is about the whole brain, left and right sides combined. Well-satiated senses are conducive to creating and C2’s arts and cultural partnering in particular reflects that. This year the Montreal Opera will play a key role at the conference opening with uniquely conceived solo performances blending digital media. Cirque du Soleil will contribute with a 47-performer strong original creation upped with “an extra dose of dazzle” from fashion legend and keynote speaker Diane von Furstenberg. The Montreal International Jazz Festival will kick in with Musique Risquée, featuring prominent Montreal DJs Vincent Lemieux and Akufen (they’ll also be curating music on C2’s outdoor plaza).

Modern dance will come in the form of the Festival TransAmérique choreographer Ginette Laurin and her new Arab Spring-inspired work Khaos. And to cap it all off, three of Montreal’s cutting-edge music festivals – M for Montreal, Osheaga and Igloofest – will all sponsor live entertainment on C2-MTL’s closing night at the Intel Forum onsite. Look for performances by indie-folk-rock tastemakers Half Moon Run, longstanding top-shelf turntablist Kid Koala and internationally acclaimed electro/techno dance DJ Tiga.

THE DETAILS

C2-MTL, May 21-23, 2013

Arsenal, 2020 Rue William, (514) 931-9978

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One of the most interesting events to take place in Montreal in a dog’s age – if Francis Ford Coppola, Arianna Huffington and Michael Eisner are of interest to you – is about to break new global ground. From May 22 to 25, many of the best and brightest minds in business, entertainment, technology and new media will come together and teach each other how to be even better at the inaugural C2-MTL conference…

The brainchild of Montreal creative agency Sid Lee (which specializes in innovative, outside-the-box marketing strategies for high-profile clients such as Cirque du Soleil, adidas and Red Bull, among many others), C2-MTL aims to reinvent archaic and staid notions of the business conference.

Don’t expect brain-paralyzing PowerPoint presentations here. Instead, look for next-level interactive experiences and a top-shelf roster of speakers, including aforementioned film director Francis Ford Coppola, online media mogul Ariana Huffington and former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, as well as top executives from Cirque du Soleil, Google, DreamWorks, Autodesk, Moment Factory, Fast Company and many more. They’ll be employing the latest technologies in their lively presentations as they rally broadly around the central theme, that of creativity being the central driver of business in the future.

Situated in the sprawling New City Gas industrial complex in Griffintown, this turn-of-the-century supplier of energy to downtown Montreal has been reconceived and rebuilt as C2-MTL’s “Village of Innovation”, the central hub around which this one-of-a-kind conference will revolve.

This central rallying point is a quick hop to some of the best eating and entertainment options in the city, like the much-talked about Joe Beef (where the creativity is in the kitchen) and Toque!, the Old Montreal home of the city’s leading culinary light, Chef Normand Laprise. Also in Old MTL, and of particular noteworthiness, the latest no-creative-holds-barred Cirque du Soleil show, Amaluna, is up and running under its very own specially-constructed Big Top. It’s a masterful multidisciplinary entertainment experience from an organization that specializes in masterful multidisciplinary entertainment experiences.

Back at C2-MTL, corporate leaders and burgeoning entrepreneurs will be busy marrying commerce and creativity as they start to build a framework for the future of business. Heady stuff. But with the work comes the play, or perhaps we should say Play, as legendary New York electronic music DJ/producer Moby has been tapped to perform at C2-MTL’s spectacular May 24 closing party, titled the Illumination Grand Finale, which will benefit from some ambitious ambience courtesy of homegrown multimedia memory makers Moment Factory and creative event specialists Circo de Bakuza. This event is open to the public so, word to the wise, get tickets while you can. Also open to the public (and free!), on May 26, is the interactive and immersive E-merge exhibition organized by Art Souterrain, as well as a wealth of C2 content that will broadcast live on their website.

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THE DETAILS

C2-MTL, May 22-25, 2012

Guest blogger Jamie O’Meara is a Montreal editor and journalist who covers arts, culture and music. Formerly the editor in chief of Hour Magazine, he is now an editor at Roverarts.com.

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