Spring is here, and as the cobwebs of winter get dusted away, doors are flinging open to let in the sunshine. Both Design Montréal Open House, running in various locations across town on May 4 and 5, and the Virée des ateliers, which runs from downtown to Hochelaga-Maisonneuve along Parthenais street from May 9 to 12, invite art and design fans into the interior sanctums of Montreal’s creative geniuses. Both provide an amazing opportunity not only to get a sense of how people work, but to pick up the most unique souvenirs imaginable.Over 100 addresses all over the city are yours to discover on the Design Montréal Open House trajectory, designed to familiarize you with the astounding star power that lives in Montreal, a Unesco City of Design. Among them you can visit the studio and store of Montreal fashion maven Mariouche Gagné, the mind behind the label Harricana, in St-Henri; the workspace and store of Aquaovo (pictured at top of page), on Saint-Laurent, who designed of the world’s most handsome water purifier (no wonder it won awards); the workspace of stuffed toys Raplapla, where designers Anne Chalifoux, Dominique Dansereau and Erica Perrot will give family-friendly workshops on how their funky characters are made; and Espace Verre, a glass-blowing studio and gallery in Old Montreal where not only will you able to snag unique pieces, you’ll see professional glass artisans create on the spot.The Virée des ateliers, in the city’s east end, is an event spread over three massive art buildings, each of which houses dozens of creative minds – think of the whole area as an enormous think-tank. Among the 100-plus studios you can visit – including so many by visual artists that you’ll get your fill of eye candy – are those of Atelier Cocotte, makers of beautiful woven wooden lamps; Velvet Moustache, which design hilarious cushions in the shape of animals; fashion accessory and textile designers Infuse, who make the most evanescent batik scarves; and women’s wear designers Grob, where you can pick up that perfect lacey blouse for all those upcoming summer picnics.

THE DETAILS

Design Montréal Open House, May 4-5, 2013

Virée des ateliers, May 9-12, 2013

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One of the world’s best and most anticipated electronic music festivals, Mutek challenges and surprises festival goers while consistently entertaining with musicians, producers and multimedia artists from around the world, specializing in both big and upcoming names in edgier electronic music.

At Mutek this year, the A/Visions evening shows and Nocturnes late-night events herald close to a hundred artists. Multifaceted producer Matthew Herbert comes back to Montreal after an eight year absence to perform three projects – One Pig, a musical improv set centred on a war photojournalist’s audio, and a DJ set as Wishmountain – throughout the festival, the UK’s undefinable and deeply cool Jamie Lidell returns, as does Catalan house beatmaker John Talabot, Detroit techno minimalist Robert Hood, Germany pianist Nils Frahm, Japanese audiovisual artist Ryoichi Kurokawa, and Montrealer Ghislain Poirier unveils his new synthy, cinematic, minimalist project, Boundary. There’s even a special performance by Pantha du Prince and The Bell Laboratory at the Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the city’s recently built and acoustically impressive symphony hall in the heart of downtown at Place des Arts.

Those in the know never underestimate the greatness of Mutek’s opening event: this year, that night  celebrates the 20th anniversary of German label Kompakt, with performances from American producer Michael Mayer, Saschienne and Swedish producer Alex Willner, a.k.a. The Field. The festival program rambles on in the best way possible with the return of British producer John Hopkins, German trio Brandt Brauer Frick, Raster-Noton duo Emptyset’s minimal noise and beats, and after years away, the jazz-infused sound of Frivolous. Also hear Mutek first-timers like young American techno experimenter Laurel Halo, prolific American producer John Tejada, and deep house makers Berlin-based Efdemin and John Roberts.

The Redbull Music Academy puts on a series of shows at high-tech, long-time Mutek venue the Society for Art and Technology, with the likes of Andy Stott, Martyn and Onra, Montreal fave Deadbeat, Space Dimension Controller, L.A.’s Nosaj Thing, and new Ninja Tune players Emika and Letherette. And on the last night of the festival, get right into Borderland, a new dub-meets-loops project from Juan Atkins and Moritz von Oswald, and a long, analogue-rich set by Juju & Jordash. Unbelievably, there are even more artists on the roster, and more still to be announced, meaning that, as always, Mutek’s a guaranteed good time.

THE DETAILS

Mutek, May 29-June 2, 2013

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Promotional content developed in partnership with The New Yorker Promotions Department.

Montréal is a wonderful city to explore on foot, and one of my favorite places to start is the Quartier des Spectacles. Home to more than 80 cultural venues, including spaces for theater, film, live bands, and more, the Quarter is a great place to get a big-picture view of what’s happening in the city. Inside the landmark Le 2-22 building, I check out the animated art installation by Moment Factory at La Vitrine Culturelle. Ribbons of text and light stream in from different directions, mimicking the swirl of the city’s cultural offerings, while an interactive touch screen and kiosk serves as a ticket center and plugged-in information exchange for culture hounds like me…

Though the height of the festival season is in the spring and summer, the city calendar is packed with events all year long. Montréal en Lumière, one of the largest winter festivals in the world, puts art, food, and dazzling evening light shows center stage. The main event  is Nuit Blanche, when the city (and the metro) runs at full speed all night. Nearly 200 activities, most of them free, showcase every branch of creative endeavor. Art Souterrain, a public art exhibition, is one of the highlights; it’s held in the underground pedestrian mall linking more than a dozen downtown landmarks, from the Place des Arts to the Palais des Congrès. Live performance pieces bring an urban immediacy and excitement to the art installations, with the city hurrying about its business all around us. What an amazing night!

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La belle province’s love affair with French cuisine is legendary. It has been rooted in tradition and technique for years. As early as three decades ago, mostly all restaurants in the city had French chefs at the helm serving classic French food. The arrival of Québécois chef Normand Laprise changed the game entirely. Laprise was instrumental in defining a cuisine that, although still rooted in French tradition, is very proper to Quebec. His insistence on working with Quebec producers and using their products to create a unique cuisine has been a role model for a whole generation of chefs.

Chefs in Montreal are not as anchored in the city’s culinary heritage as their colleagues are in the “old country”, perhaps for the simple fact that Montreal is a relatively young city with a relatively short culinary history. We happily embrace new ideas and count among our most-loved restaurants a few classic French ones that have been around for years, like Chez la mère Michel or L’Express, as well as more recent and inventive ones.

Today, many of Montreal’s most famous chefs are taking that classic French training and using it to create a new kind of cuisine, one that can only be defined as the new Montreal cuisine. Some of the most ubiquitous French dishes are being reinvented in ways that could never be conceived of in their place of birth. Boudin (blood sausage), for example, can be consumed in its most classic form in a few of the more conventional French establishments around town. But give boudin to brilliantly inventive award-winning Montreal chefs like Martin Juneau of Pastaga or the team at Les 400 Coups and they will transform it into an explosive croquette or a silky smooth, perfectly spiced tart, dishes that are as far removed from the original sausage-form as possible but that are rooted in it nonetheless.

Whether you’re craving a traditional coq au vin or something more contemporary, today’s Montreal French food scene caters to everyone’s individual idea of what French cuisine is, or must be.

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After celebrating its 10th year last summer, the now-infamous Piknic Electronik returns on Sunday, May 19 and continues its inclusive, happy-times, electronic dance party tradition every Sunday to September 22 in Parc Jean-Drapeau, located on an (easily accessible by public transit) island in the middle of the St-Laurent river, where there’s always a breeze and a view of downtown Montreal and the Mountain.

Piknic creates a new kind of dance club every week, always with a friendly, welcoming vibe, bringing in DJs from around the world and boosting up some of the best producers in Montreal and across Canada. Last year’s DJs included Major Lazer, Squarepusher, Nicolas Jaar and many, many more – we’ll hear in a couple of weeks what this year’s line-up has in store. What better way to hear the latest electronic dance sounds of all kinds, on a sound system built to match, than outside on a sunny day, surrounded by fellow dance music lovers?

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THE DETAILS
Piknic Electronik, Every Sunday, May 19-September 22, at Parc Jean-Drapeau

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As any parent knows, practical considerations are very important when planning days out with the kids. Below are some suggestions to help you optimize your enjoyment at some of Montreal’s favourite family attractions.

According to Nadia Paquet of the Montreal Science Centre, all of the Centre’s activities are intended for families, so it’s an ideal destination for kids. There’s also a brand-new section, Clic! The Zone for Curious Young Minds, that’s especially for very young and curious minds of 4-7 years old. Here, kids can play in a stimulating environment while also learning about scientific concepts. In this sense-stimulating, wonder-filled space, kids can have fun playing with shapes and colours, all while developing their creativity and dexterity in an environment that encourages teamwork and social skills. Admission to the Montreal Science Centre is free for under-3s, strollers are permitted in the exhibition rooms (though not in the IMAX theatre), and there are lockers for gear storage.

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There is no talking about steakhouses in Montreal without mentioning downtown’s La Queue de Cheval. One of, if not the, most prestigious fine dining spots in Montreal, “The Q” is on par with the caliber of any of New York’s swankiest steakhouses.

Featuring signature cuts of in-house dried aged USDA PRIME steaks, La Queue de Cheval also proudly serves Australian Wagyu beef famous for its marbling and luscious fat content. Nothing this amazing comes chea, but in the end you absolutely get what you pay for and for the experience you’ll get at The Q (dining room, whiskey bar or cigar lounge) is worth every penny. La Queue de Cheval, 1234 De La Montagne (514) 390-0091

A Montreal institution known for their reputation of menu quality is Moishe’s Steakhouse. Located on Saint-Laurent, this local hot spot recently celebrated its 75^thanniversary. Voted by Forbes Magazine as one of the top 10 steakhouses in the world, Moishe’s old world charm and rich heritage shines through their dishes and service. From their Kobe beef burger or signature bone-in filet mignon, Moishe’s steakhouse offers not only classic cuts of meat charcoal broiled to perfection, but also offer some of them on a late night menu (after 9pm) which sees these mains paired with an appetizer and coffee or tea for a preferred price of $25. Moishe’s Steakhouse, 3961 St-Laurent, (514) 845-3509

The newest player in the Montreal steak scene is L’Atelier d’Argentine, headed by executive chef Natalia Machado and located in the Old Port. Her masterful touch oversees the authentic Argentinian asado and traditional presentations of beef whose signature highlight cuts are the rib eye, short ribs and skirt steak. Chef Machado’s culinary philosophy and deft hand of experience is evident in the preparation of each cut of meat appropriating different techniques down to seasoning to showcase the subtle intricacies of the meat. L’Atelier d’Argentine prides themselves on using the freshest products, having meat that is butchered daily is a necessity in order to have it speak for itself to be prepared and served on a plate with nothing more than chimichurri, criolla and lots of love. L’Atelier d’Argentine, 355 Rue Marguerite D’Youville, (514) 287-3362

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Honourable mentions:

Gibby’s, 298 Place D’youville, (514) 282-1837

Méchant Bœuf, 124 Saint-Paul West, (514) 788-4020

Rib ‘N Reef Steakhouse & Cigar Lounge, 8105 Décarie, (514) 735-1601

Magnan Restaurant et Taverne, 2602 Saint-Patrick, (514) 935-9647

Vieux-Port Steakhouse, 39 Saint-Paul East, (514) 866-3175

The Keg, Various Locations

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(easter time) Celebrate spring in Montreal by spending some time in nature, indoors and out. Take the kids on a different kind of easter egg hunt at the Ecomuseum zoo or hunt for butterflies (with your eyes only) at the Montreal Botanical Gardens’s Butterflies Go Free special exhibition. Learn more about the environment and biodiversity at the Botanical Garden’s Base Camp and at the Montreal Biodome, where kids can discover live animals and plants from around the world, there’s even a (non-chocolate) egg exhibition in the lobby. And see even more butterflies at the Montreal Science Centre’s IMAX screening of Flight of the Butterflies in 3D.

(easter eats) Quebec’s famed sugar shack season happens to be in full form this Easter weekend too – try out La Cabane in the Old Port, restaurants with maple-syrup themed menus, or take a short drive out of town to experience the complete sugar shack experience. Visit the Montreal Botanical Gardens to learn more about where maple syrup comes from and try out the candy-like concoction of maple syrup on snow, until April 26. For even more sweet treats – and several savoury ones too – peruse Montreal’s excellent Italian delis, the Jean Talon Market or simply go for the classic Easter brunch at one of many Montreal brunch spots, from Old Montreal to Mile End, and pick up some chocolate along the way.

(dance & theatre) Danse Danse presents The Light Between, a new work of hope and vulnerability by Governor General’s Award winning choreographer Margi Gillis, to March 30 at Place des Arts, and, beginning April 4, the astounding Spanish flamenco of María Pagés as the star dances a show called Autorretrato, “a self-portrait created at Mikhaïl Baryshnikov’s instigation.” More dance takes the stage at the Centaur Theatre, where Danish dance-theatre troupe Granhøj Dans celebrates the music of Leonard Cohen – in intriguing, funny and surprising ways – in Dance Me to the End On/Off Love, to April 14.

(immersive art) Artistic visions of spring are beginning to show themselves this week too. New exhibitions at the MACM captivate with colour and intrigue with interactivity and every Sunday afternoon, kids and adults alike can participate in hands-on art-making workshops. Experimental, immersive, digital video art amazes at the SAT’s 360º Satosphere dome: audio-visual show Chaos and Order continues until March 29, followed up starting April 2 with P3rception, a program of three exploratory works that might just cause sensory overload: Diana Reichenbach’s animated film ||0.1.||, Eric Hanson and Charles Lindsay’s Carbon-X, and Ulf Langheinrich’s Hemisphere. And outdoors, projected on the face of UQAM’s Président-Kennedy building in the heart of the Quartier des Spectales, see animated film Le cycle de l’eau.

(live music) One of hip-hop’s best starts the weekend right on Friday night: Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli gets lyrical with Koriass, Ceas Rock and Dj Manifest at Club Soda – the show is one of many at the Montreal Hip Hop Festival, happening all weekend. Also on Friday, Los Angeles indie-rock band Local Natives comes to town with Superhumanoids at Le National, and Saturday night is nothing but old-school LA punk with Bad Religion at Metropolis. On April 1, The Dear Hunter tour their new album Migrant, at Sala Rossa. Turn Tuesday night into a sweaty electronic music dance party with Chicago DJ duo Flosstradamus at the SAT or British electro-rock band Modestep at the Corona Theatre. On April 3, Alicia Keys and Miguel (!) put a spell on the Bell Centre and K-OS and Rich Aucoin shake up the Corona. And on Thursday, April 4, much-loved Francophone singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Damien Robitaille plays Metropolis and Montreal’s Suuns brighten up Sala.

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Oprah’s North American tour makes stops across Canada, arriving in Montreal to enliven Quebeckers and out-of-towners alike with that unique Oprah spirit: over the course of the live show, Oprah will tell stories of her personal and professional life and take questions from the audience, all with the aim to inspire and empower.

Recently, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) took an interest in Montreal’s penchant for public art and outdoor music, name-checking popular springtime art installation 21 Balançoires (21 Swings), a long row of musical swings ready for playtime in the heart of downtown’s the Quartier des Spectacles. The art installation really does have an Oprah vibe to it, gathering people to make something beautiful together by turning a city street into a fun, playground-like space where anyone and everyone becomes a musician (not to mention a kid at heart.)

Created by Montreal artists Mouna Andraos and Melissa Mongiat and design group Daily Tous Les Jours, 21 Balançoires turns the simple act of hopping on a swing into a music-making experience – and possibly even a friend-making experience too. Each swing triggers the sound of a musical instrument – piano, guitar, harp and more – so it’s remarkably easy to create melodies and even harmonize with fellow swingers. It’s not hard to find the swings along the Promenade des Artistes – just follow the sound of music and laughter.

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THE DETAILS

Oprah Live in Montreal, April 11, 2013

21 Balançoires (21 Swings), April 17 to June 2, 2013

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The MACM is always an accessible museum, but these days it’s even more interactive than usual thanks to two works by British-born, Berlin-based artist Tinho Segal. Creating a cross between theatre and visual art that somehow sidesteps art performance, Seghal builds entire sets in museums and hires “actors” to animate them in carefully choreographed situations.

Right now there are two of his pieces at the MACM: his iconic Kiss, from 2002, which involves a couple reinterpreting famous kisses drawn from the history of art in a tightly choreographed 8-minute loop; and This Situation, from 2007, a conversation piece that has the “agents” discuss philosophical issues between themselves and with the visitor, if you so choose. Passersby can influence the whole direction the performance takes awhile they are in the room. Now that’s power!

Right next door in the video room don’t miss 4 000 Disparos by Brazilian artist Jonathas de Andrade, for which he filmed male faces in Super 8 film as he travelled throughout Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, in a journey of territorial recognition of a Latin America he belongs to without feeling part of. French artist Laurent Grasso and Montreal artist Lynne Cohen round out the current exhibitions: With his trickster’s take on temporality and the making of history, Grasso’s show, titled, Uraniborg, presents neon signs, objects, videos and more that lead to the creation of what the artist calls a “false historical memory.”

Cohen, on the other hand, presents 40 of her interior landscapes – since the 1970s the artist has been capturing, unpopulated, often odd spaces constructed by humans, used by humans, but devoid of humans. The images are filled with the tension created by that emptiness and the occasional inexplicable aspects of the photographs. Photo: courtesy of Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto.

On April 5, make sure you catch the Friday Nocturne, the museum’s popular series from 5 to 9 pm every first Friday of the month, which this time features saxophonist Colin Stetson. Famous as a member of Bell Orchestre and a collaborator of Arcade Fire, Lou Reed and Feist, Stetson explores the limit of his instrument in his solo work, creating beautiful soundscapes that will transport you to wholly ethereal planes.

In May this bunch of exhibitions will make way for two new guys: the first solo exhibition in Canada of Brooklyn-based artist Eve Sussman and her collaborative team Rufus Corporation, for one. Generated by algorithm but influenced by the films of Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean-Luc Godard and Wim Wenders, Sussman’s filmic pieces offer a futuristic look at space and time, utopia and dystopia, fractured narration and torn landscapes from Russia and Central Asia. In the next room there’ll be Montreal artist Michel de Broin, whose playful multidisciplinary practice extends from photography to video to sculpture, and explores the notions of resistance, misappropriation and recycling with a cynical sense of humour.

THE DETAILS

Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 185 Sainte-Catherine West, (514) 847-6226

Photo Credits- Tinho Segal Photo: ©Tate, Jonathas de Andrade Photo: courtesy of Olga Korper Gallery, Toronto

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