MONTREAL, Dec. 17, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Until February 1, 2015, two new public art installations can be discovered in the fifth annual Luminothérapie in Montreal's Quartier des spectacles: Prismatica by Raw Design and Fascinoscope by Lüz Studio. Luminothérapie is an opportunity for creators to present light-based works in the public spaces of the Quartier des Spectacles and help make the spaces a major attraction in the heart of Montreal.

This year, interactivity is a particularly important part of Luminothérapie. The public can participate by making Prismatica's giant prisms rotate on Place des Festivals and by playing Fascinoscope's four carnival games outside Saint-Laurent metro station.

The works are on display for free daily, with Prismatica open around the clock and Fascinoscope starting at nightfall.

Every Friday and Saturday in January from 5 to 8 p.m., Place des Festivals will feature one food truck, allowing visitors to enjoy a fireside snack while enjoying the light show.

Starting January 15, there will be free guided tours of the Luminothérapie works. Online registration will begin on January 6.

For more information about Luminothérapie: www.quartierdesspectacles.com/lumino

"Luminothérapie brings a playful, creative touch to winter in the Quartier des Spectacles. By presenting new works every year, the event democratizes public interactive art and makes it an integral part of Montreal's DNA. It is an exceptional calling card for our city, helping it earn an excellent reputation among cities that are distinguishing themselves as cultural centres," said Jacques Primeau, chair of the Quartier des Spectacles Partnership.

"I am once again proud to say that Montreal's reputation extends well beyond our borders, and that as a UNESCO City of Design, the city is attracting a great deal of interest from creators. Luminothérapie is an important platform for the next generation of designers and a gathering place for all Montrealers and visitors. It democratizes art and encourages discussion," said Manon Gauthier, the Ville de Montréal's executive committee member responsible for culture, heritage, design, Space for Life and the status of women.

Prismatica by Raw Design
Open 24/7

This immersive installation, comprised of 50 pivoting prisms more than two metres tall, transforms the Place des Festivals into a giant kaleidoscope. The prisms are made of panels laminated with a dichronic film that transmits and reflects every colour in the visible spectrum, varying with the position of the light source and the observer. The prisms are mounted on bases containing projectors. As visitors wander among and manipulate the prisms, they will enjoy an infinite interplay of lights and colourful reflections. As the prisms rotate, a variable-intensity soundtrack comprised of bell sounds will play.

RAW Design (Toronto)
RAW Design is a Toronto-based architectural firm that works on a wide variety of scales and project types. From community greenhouses to large residential developments, not to mention outdoor interactive installations, its team of 30 architects and designers takes a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach. For Prismatica, the firm assembled a team of professionals from several fields (applied science, technology, art and architecture).

Lighting design
ATOMIC3 + Jean-François Piché
Sound design
Dix au carré
Production and technical direction
ATOMIC3 + Louis Héon

Fascinoscope by Lüz Studio
Sunday to Thursday: nightfall to 11 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays: nightfall to 1 a.m.

With Fascinoscope, the eight permanent video projection sites in the Quartier des Spectacles evoke the atmosphere of an early 20^th-century carnival. Each projection is accompanied by an original soundtrack of organ, bass and drum music.

Outside Saint-Laurent metro station, the work's focal point, the public is invited to play four interactive games inspired by carnival classics. Players control the games with four small punching bags fitted with sensors that measure their rotation and speed. By punching the bags, players interact with the projection and score points to win the game.

The interactive games (outside Saint-Laurent metro station)
4 players maximum

1. Poulets en cavale: inspired by the classic shooting gallery, this "chicken run" game is all about accuracy. Players must punch the bag at just the right moment to knock over the passing chickens.
2. Les fulgurantes machines volantes: in this flying-machine frenzy, each punching bag controls a hot-air balloon. Players try to make their balloon rise faster than the others by activating the controller non-stop.
3. Le maître de l'illusion: inspired by Whack-a-Mole, the "master of illusion" game depicts 8 magicians' hats from which items pop up. Players try to use the magic wand, controlled with the punching bag, to make the items disappear.
4. Le charmeur de serpents: inspired by tests of strength, this snake-charmer game shows wicker baskets from which snakes emerge. Players must make their snake stretch as high as possible to ring a bell.