Art at the heart of a commercial artery

In 2015, the Montcalm District SDC, in partnership with the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and the City of Quebec, came up with the idea of ​​offering a public, off-site art activity to strollers along Cartier Avenue, between Grande-Allée and Chemin Sainte-Foy. The 34-lampshade light fixtures are decorated by Quebec artists. These 34 images are displayed over a length of approximately 25 feet. They are illuminated at dusk.

To provide a more complete immersion in their worlds, the various partners came up with the idea of ​​enhancing the project by combining it with a digital solution to offer interactive cultural mediation. In the fall of 2020, the SDC then used the MySmartJourney solution.

Interactivity with works and attractiveness of a neighborhood

At the base of the streetlights are signs enhanced with QR codes and NFC tokens. Art is even more accessible to neighborhood residents, regulars, and casual visitors who frequent one of Quebec City's busiest streets.

In practice, one of the triggers on the enhanced sign is activated with a cell phone. Videos, text, images, and quizzes document the artistic process and offer interaction with the passerby. This mediation allows for direct immersion in the work.

You can also take a selfie and illustrate it with graphic elements from the guest artist. The enhanced photo can be shared on Facebook or downloaded as a souvenir.

Such an enriched experience creates visitor engagement and aims to attract more curious visitors or a new audience to Cartier Street. It's a great example of a successful collaboration and a shared vision between an organization serving merchants, a major cultural institution, and a municipality. This is even more remarkable because it has been going on since 2015.