{"id":10745,"date":"2011-06-19T20:36:46","date_gmt":"2011-06-20T01:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spacingmontreal.ca\/?p=10745"},"modified":"2013-01-21T11:47:54","modified_gmt":"2013-01-21T16:47:54","slug":"a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/","title":{"rendered":"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
The Talked About Town, Place Ville Marie's new exhibit, is part of the Montreal landmark itself (Natascia Lypny photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You wake up and pour yourself a glass of Ovopur filtered water. Then, you don your new Philippe Dubuc shirt and trousers. An Aribus STM shelter protects your designer outfit as you wait for the bus that will transport to your office in the Quebecor Building. After a late lunch meeting in the Square des Fr\u00e8res-Charon, you dash to Place des Arts to catch Op\u00e9ra de Montr\u00e9al\u2019s newest production.<\/p>\n

Like many Montrealers, you are mostly unaware local designers have defined your day. \u201cDesign is everywhere,\u201d says Jean-Philippe Tardif. \u201cDesign is in park benches; it\u2019s in how the sidewalk is built and the lampposts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tardif is the vice-president of branding and design at Bleublancrouge<\/a>, the marketing firm behind Place Ville Marie<\/a>\u2019s public exhibits. Their newest, The Talked About Town<\/a>, or Une ville si souvent cit\u00e9e, celebrates Montreal\u2019s fifth anniversary as a UNESCO City of Design<\/a>. Montreal was awarded this title in June 2006, making it the first North American city to receive this designation. Ten cities around the world now share this title.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat this designation gave us was it helped Montreal make a big leap forward in its support in showcasing of local design talent,\u201d says Helen Fotopulos, the city\u2019s executive committee member responsible for culture, heritage, design and the status of women. That talent, she notes, stems from some 40,000 Quebec designers. Fifty two per cent of them are based in Montreal.<\/p>\n

The exhibit presents three contest-winners from seven design disciplines (see insert). \u201cNous, c\u2019\u00e9tait les sept (disciplines) qui \u00e9taient le plus pr\u00e8s de nos activit\u00e9s \u00e0 nous, \u00e0 la Place Ville Marie; les activit\u00e9s de nos locataires,\u201d explains Place Ville Marie\u2019s senior adviser for communications, public affairs and marketing Marie Caron. The exhibit is incorporated into the infrastructure of Place Ville Marie itself: a staircase, two food courts, and pillars along a shopping corridor display photographs of the chosen projects and blurbs describing Montreal\u2019s progress as a City of Design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The seven disciplines on display in The Talked About Town<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
FASHION DESIGN: styles change, success remains<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
INDUSTRIAL DESIGN: when ideas are mass-produced<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
EXHIBITION DESIGN: the art of showing the art of others<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
ARCHITECTURE: build, renovate or grow; it’s all a part of the plan<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE: fresh ideas down the street<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
INTERIOR DESIGN: inner beauty is important for buildings too<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
GRAPHIC DESIGN: when words and images marry, colour is always at the wedding<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The exhibit is just as much a showcase of Montreal designers as it is an advertisement for Place Ville Marie. This third exhibit in a series of annual shows executed by Bleublancrouge acts to promote the building as much more than a place of business, commerce or transit. Tardif hopes the exhibits will help distinguish Place Ville Marie as a downtown landmark, while simultaneously highlighting Montreal\u2019s uniqueness as a design city. \u201cC\u2019\u00e9tait une fa\u00e7on pour nous de se distinguer en temps que gal\u00e9rie marchande. On voulait avoir des activit\u00e9s qui n\u2019\u00e9tait pas carr\u00e9ment juste commerciales,\u201d adds Caron. \u201cC\u2019\u00e9tait une fa\u00e7on d\u2019attirer une publique chez nous: une publique nouvelle dans nos espaces et de faire d\u00e9courvrir la Place Ville Marie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Promoting design as an integrated element of a city\u2019s many sectors has been central to the 2007-2017 Montr\u00e9al, Design of the City\/City of Design action plan<\/a>. As a result of the plan, \u201cdesign got integrated into economic development; it got integrated into cultural development; and it\u2019s being followed on a regular basis in terms of the responsibility of various city departments,\u201d says Fotopulos.<\/p>\n

Such was not always the case. Fotopulos explains that with a few exceptions, design used to be the \u201ccherry on the sundae\u201d when it came to urban planning\u2014and only if it could be included cheaply, adds Tardif. Recently, urban landscape workshops, architectural competitions, and a slew of design competitions have encouraged those in charge of building Montreal to do so with design in mind. The municipal government’s bureau de Design Montr\u00e9al wants to expand design-oriented planning to every urban project and every borough on the island.<\/p>\n

Design Montr\u00e9al<\/a> was created in 2006 to implement the action plan. After Montreal was designated as a UNESCO City of Design, it was also assigned the task of ensuring the city lived up to its title. Five years later, Fotopulos is unsure whether Montreal has achieved this goal. Tardif agrees: \u201cWhen I look around, there isn\u2019t much of a statement.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Doyun Lee, the assistant programme specialist in the division of cultural expressions and creative industries at UNESCO, says that the designation is much more than a recognition the design a city has exhibited in the past. The title acknowledges a future commitment to, and engagement in, the field of design. In that respect, Tardif sees Montreal as a city with the will and the talent to become a full-fledged city of design.<\/p>\n

But this ambition must extend outside the design community to ordinary citizens. Hundreds of people walk by the Talked About Town exhibit each day without a second\u2019s glance.\u00a0Design Montr\u00e9al has noted the same ambivalence toward much of the design Montreal has to offer its residents.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Design Montr\u00e9al is trying to counteract the ambivalence to design seen in these exhibition loungers (Natascia Lypny photo).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To counteract this disengagement, Design Montr\u00e9al organizes an annual Opening Doors event inviting Montrealers into the design community. The fifth edition occurred June 4 and 5 with 75 design agencies, venues and projects holding open houses for the general public. Design Montr\u00e9al hopes this kind of exposure to the design world will incite in citizens to take pride in Montreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cA design city is first and foremost built by talent and those who conceive design, make decisions, and finance, create, and most importantly, those who live there,\u201d says Fotopulos. \u201cSo, that\u2019s why we say that the most important element in Montreal are Montrealers: they\u2019re the people who make this city, they\u2019re the ones who make the economy, propel it, and they support its creators.\u201d<\/p>\n

This focus on \u201clocal audience development\u201d is particularly strong in Montreal, says Lee. While some Cities of Design, such as Sante Fe have emphasized design as a tourism asset, Montreal has stressed how to include citizens in the initiative of becoming a City of Design.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that type of dynamism behind design,\u201d concludes Fotopulos, \u201cMontreal is developing into a real, cultural metropolis with design as one of its foremost values.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Talked About Town runs until September 30. Monday to Wednesday 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Thursday and Friday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Sunday noon to 5:00 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You wake up and pour yourself a glass of Ovopur filtered water. Then, you don your new Philippe Dubuc shirt and trousers. An Aribus STM shelter protects your designer outfit as you wait for the bus that will transport to your office in the Quebecor Building. After a late lunch meeting in the Square desContinue reading “A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5076,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7832,7839,102,7842],"tags":[147,6405,6412,6413,6415,4146,48,6410,3253,6416,612,6409,6407,125,6417,6411,5,25,292,6414,6408,6403,28,6406,873,6404],"class_list":["post-10745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-architecture","category-culture","category-neighbourhoods","category-spacing","category-urban-design","tag-art-culture","tag-assistant-programme-specialist-in-the-division","tag-bleublancrouge","tag-building-montreal","tag-citycity","tag-designer","tag-downtown","tag-doyun-lee","tag-finance","tag-food-courts","tag-helen-fotopulos","tag-jean-philippe-tardif","tag-marie-caron","tag-montreal","tag-municipal-governments-bureau","tag-philippe-dubuc","tag-planning","tag-public-art","tag-quebec","tag-quebecor-building","tag-sante-fe","tag-senior-adviser","tag-spacing-montreal","tag-the-vice-president-of-branding-and-design","tag-united-nations-educational-scientific-and-cultural-organization","tag-vice-president-of-branding-and-design"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You wake up and pour yourself a glass of Ovopur filtered water. Then, you don your new Philippe Dubuc shirt and trousers. An Aribus STM shelter protects your designer outfit as you wait for the bus that will transport to your office in the Quebecor Building. After a late lunch meeting in the Square desContinue reading "A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Spacing Montreal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-20T01:36:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-01-21T16:47:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natascia Lypny\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Spacing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natascia Lypny\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/\",\"name\":\"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-20T01:36:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-01-21T16:47:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/bc82ce703aad931e2005d4ebfd7ea4fd\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/\",\"name\":\"Spacing Montreal\",\"description\":\"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered | Montreal Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/bc82ce703aad931e2005d4ebfd7ea4fd\",\"name\":\"Natascia Lypny\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c98bd63085fdbf995770db88dcb50fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c98bd63085fdbf995770db88dcb50fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Natascia Lypny\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/author\/natascia\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal","og_description":"You wake up and pour yourself a glass of Ovopur filtered water. Then, you don your new Philippe Dubuc shirt and trousers. An Aribus STM shelter protects your designer outfit as you wait for the bus that will transport to your office in the Quebecor Building. After a late lunch meeting in the Square desContinue reading \"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design\"","og_url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/","og_site_name":"Spacing Montreal","article_published_time":"2011-06-20T01:36:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-01-21T16:47:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Natascia Lypny","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Spacing","twitter_site":"@Spacing","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Natascia Lypny","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/","name":"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design - Spacing Montreal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg","datePublished":"2011-06-20T01:36:46+00:00","dateModified":"2013-01-21T16:47:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/bc82ce703aad931e2005d4ebfd7ea4fd"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/network\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2011\/06\/IMG_33471-300x224.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/2011\/06\/19\/a-new-exhibit-celebrates-montreal-unesco-city-of-design\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A new exhibit celebrates Montreal, UNESCO City of Design"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/","name":"Spacing Montreal","description":"Canadian Urbanism Uncovered | Montreal Architecture, Urban Design, Public Transit, City Hall, Parks, Walking, Bikes, Streetscape, History, Waterfront, Maps, Public Spaces","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/bc82ce703aad931e2005d4ebfd7ea4fd","name":"Natascia Lypny","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c98bd63085fdbf995770db88dcb50fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2c98bd63085fdbf995770db88dcb50fb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Natascia Lypny"},"url":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/author\/natascia\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5076"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10745"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21239,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10745\/revisions\/21239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spacing.ca\/montreal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}