La Vitrine, a brand-new platform to discover Québec’s cultural offerings

Montréal, October 15, 2024 - Developed in conjunction with Québec’s cultural community, the
innovative La Vitrine platform connects audiences to their ideal cultural outing, according to their
tastes, their mood, and their location. The goal is to rekindle Québecers’ enthusiasm for cultural
activities, and to encourage them to enjoy themselves while discovering new, unexplored regions
throughout the province.

A matchmaker for cultural adventures

Whether you’re with family, friends, your partner or on your own, La Vitrine offers suggestions for
audiences to discover the richness, diversity and abundance of cultural offerings across Québec.
Whether for theatre fans in Sherbrooke, music enthusiasts in Gatineau or dance buffs in
Trois-Rivières, La Vitrine acts as a matchmaker, encouraging the culturally curious to enjoy
experiences and vibe with artists. 

For Monique Simard, President of La Vitrine’s Board of Directors, the new platform is much more
than a simple digital tool. “La Vitrine is a true gateway to Québec’s cultural universe. The platform will
serve Québec citizens as much as the cultural community, its artists, producers and broadcasters. We
view La Vitrine as a cultural matchmaker, facilitating discovery to ensure that cultural activities retain a
central place in all our lives. Additionally, a great advantage of this platform is that it redirects
audiences to official local box offices, guaranteeing a fair price and avoiding unauthorized resellers.”

 

Digital innovation for Québec’s cultural community

La Vitrine innovates by deploying the very first aggregator platform for descriptive data on Québec’s
and Canada’s cultural offering. With the invaluable collaboration of numerous ticket outlets and
cultural groups, La Vitrine introduces significant digital connections enabling automatic availability of
cultural event data. And improvements will continually be implemented over the coming weeks, better
reflecting the diversity of Québec’s cultural offering. Leveraging the power of digital technology to
better serve cultural promotion, La Vitrine offers an initiative that integrates sustainability and
complements the capacities of individual organizations. It’s an ambitious project, with its share of
challenges aimed at improving the discoverability and accessibility of Québec culture.

According to Mathieu Lacombe, Québec’s Minister of Culture and Communications: “This
project is the result of a collective vision, and bears witness to the digital shift that has been
undertaken to support Québec’s cultural industry. I am proud to have supported La Vitrine in this
innovative project, in line with Québec’s Digital Cultural Plan. La Vitrine contributes to regaining
control over our digital sovereignty in cultural matters, offering locally developed solutions which
correspond with the reality of Québec’s cultural milieu. La Vitrine aims to increase the visibility of
cultural events throughout all regions of the province, with special emphasis on promoting the artistry
of professional, French-speaking Québecers, First Nations and Inuit. By working together, we are meeting today’s challenges and ensuring that our culture continues to interest and fascinate all types
of audiences.”

Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Canadian Heritage, adds: “The discoverability of Canadian works and
artists in the digital age is essential to promoting our culture, our identity and our language. La
Vitrine’s new platform is perfectly aligned with the federal government’s vision of providing everyone
with better access to culture. Thanks to this initiative, we are actively participating in the creation of
innovative tools aimed at highlighting professionals in the cultural industry and showcasing their
talent.”

“The Ville de Montréal is proud to support this initiative, which highlights the diversity and vitality of our
cultural scene,” says Ericka Alneus, Member of the Ville de Montréal Executive Committee,
responsible for culture, heritage, gastronomy and nightlife. “La Vitrine plays a key role in
democratizing access to culture and connecting citizens with artists. By encouraging citizens to attend
events and discover new experiences, we are contributing to the vitality of our city and to the
development of culture across all regions of Québec,” adds Ms. Alneus.

A collaborative project to meet the challenges of modern digital promotion

Québec’s cultural landscape faces major challenges that can only be met collectively. La Vitrine has
developed its new platform in consultation with key players involved in promoting cultural events in
Québec. By offering large and small Québec organizations and artists the opportunity to post their
events free of charge on its platform, La Vitrine is committed to pooling promotional initiatives in an
effort to rekindle Québec audiences’ taste for thrilling cultural moments.

Kathia St-Jean, General Manager of La Vitrine, explains: “The platform we are presenting today is
a first version. Now it’s the public’s turn to use it and provide feedback. We’ll be constantly updating
the platform to adapt to user expectations and the changing needs of the cultural community. This
conversation is very important to us. We are convinced that today’s promotional challenges must be
met collectively, involving the public, the cultural community, the media and government authorities.
And this is just the beginning! Today’s announcement is the first step in a broader, long-term
promotional offensive. La Vitrine is more than just an online platform—our ambition is to turn it into an
alliance whose various initiatives will multiply these all-important cultural encounters.”

 

Support from Guylaine Tremblay and Mani Soleymanlou

La Vitrine is proud to introduce its two ambassadors: Guylaine Tremblay and Mani Soleymanlou,
they both have a deep understanding of the challenge of filling a theatre. The former is an iconic
actress in Québec theatre and television, while the latter is a well-known director and actor who has
spearheaded a number of major theatrical productions.

“As an artist, experiencing a full house changes everything. I’m sure La Vitrine will help create those
intense moments when audiences and artists meet, and I’m delighted to support this initiative,” says
Guylaine Tremblay, iconic actress whose talent and authenticity have touched countless Québecers.
“Culture is first and foremost an encounter, and La Vitrine will facilitate this essential connection
between creators and audiences. It’s a valuable tool for all those who value the arts and artistic
performances,” adds Mani Soleymanlou, renowned stage director and artistic director.

To find amazing cultural activities near you, you are invited to create an account on La Vitrine.

 

About La Vitrine

La Vitrine is a non-profit organization recognized for its expertise in promoting cultural events.
Working with both the public and key stakeholders in the artistic community, it relies on technology,
promotion and support to generate positive impacts, both onstage and backstage.

Convinced of the importance of harnessing the power of digital technology to better serve the cultural
community, La Vitrine has deployed an innovative platform with personalized recommendations to
connect audiences with cultural activities across Québec. La Vitrine leverages collective solutions and
tools that help individual organizations gain greater visibility than they could on their own. Along with
its partners, La Vitrine aims to attract broader audiences, thus increasing the cultural offering in every
region of Québec.

 

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Contact

Media Relations
Marelle Communications
Charlotte Isambert
[email protected]
514-605-1807

Cabinet du ministre de la Culture et des Communications
Attachée de presse du Ministre
Catherine Boucher
[email protected]
418-802-6833

Information
La Vitrine
Chloé Maupu
[email protected]
438-529-4693