Great success for the 5th Design Montréal Open House
Over 17,000 visits in two days!
Montréal, June 7, 2011 – The 5th annual Design Montréal Open House, which came to a close on Sunday afternoon, was a great success. The 75 participating design offices, agencies and studios welcomed 17,300 visitors. The event took place as part of the celebrations surrounding Montréal’s 5th anniversary as a UNESCO City of Design.
The design venues outdid each other in finding original ways to attract the public. Orangetango, one of the most popular, offered visitors a photo shoot in order to create a personalized poster using the concept for its Complètement Cirque! campaign. Département Studio Créatif invited visitors to play with its interactive table, and Vaste presented an exhibition about its Like, Don’t Like project.
“The 5th Design Montréal Open House was a fitting way to mark Montréal’s 5th anniversary as a UNESCO City of Design,” said Helen Fotopulos, the Ville de Montréal’s Executive Committee member responsible for Culture, Heritage, Design and the Status of Women. “The event, which gets more popular every year, allows Montréalers to immerse themselves in the designers’ world and learn about the impact that designers have on their everyday lives.”
Ms. Fotopulos thanked the event’s spokesperson, actress Anne-Marie Cadieux, and the eight promotional campaign ambassadors: Randy Cohen of Atelier Big City, Mariouche Gagné of Harricana, Aurèle Cardinal of Cardinal Hardy, Mario Gagnon of Alto Design, Émilie Bailey of gsmprjct*, Alexandre Blazys of BlazysGérard, Guillaume Cardell of Baillat Cardell et fils, and Josée Labelle of NIPpaysage.
A well-designed weekend
Over these two days devoted to design, visitors were able to meet creators who have distinguished themselves in national and international design competitions and tour their workplaces to find out about their most recent accomplishments. The visitors learned about the profession in a friendly, festive atmosphere.
Once again, the designers brought their creativity to the fore: video screenings, models, 3D animations, exhibitions, interactive installations and fun activities were all on the menu.
Kids were welcome too: among others, they took part in a number of creation workshops, such as typography and illustration. As designers for a day, they made models, created clothing lines, designed a house and even gardened on a green roof.
The Design Montréal Open House is an initiative of the Ville de Montréal with the support of various professional groups and in partnership with the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine, pursuant to the Agreement on the Cultural Development of Montréal.
The Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal was created in January 2006 by the Ville de Montréal. Its mission is to implement the municipal action plan aimed at improving design throughout the city and positioning Montréal as a UNESCO City of Design.