Montreal Night Summit

May 17-18, 2023

Phi Centre, 315 Rue Saint-Paul O, Montreal, QC

NOX SPATIUM

Community - Dialogue - Culture

CONFERENCES - ROUNDTABLES - FILM SCREENINGS

The Montreal Night Summit is back from May 17 and 18 in collaboration with the Phi Centre to imagine what possibilities might be found in the infinite expanse of the night.

Night is not only time, it is also space. Space to bond, build, dance, dream, create, experience and celebrate the cities we inhabit, together.

We hope you will join MTL 24/24 this spring to expand collective horizons and explore the boundless potential that the night has to offer.

This year’s Night Summit will explore the following topics with speakers from Europe, the US, Canada and Quebec:

Physical dimensions: Nightscapes, architecture, zoning areas, urban development and planning, transformation of industrial spaces, cultural venues, multi-use placemaking and creative footprints.

The exploration of ingenuity: Ideas, interventions, best practices, actions, policy and possibilities. Moonshots in transit, public parks, lighting, society, culture, safety, care, and space for the next generation.

Constellations and relative positions: Night governance models, inter-city networks, innovations in community building, nightlife projects and resilience.

To close out the week, our 𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏 event returns from the 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟏𝟗 𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟏 for 36 back-to-back hours of night culture in the Port of Montreal Pavilion, with its spectacular panoramic view of the St. Lawrence River and the city of Montreal!

You can already secure your pass for NON STOP by reserving a Passport for the Summit! Reserve your passport now (limited quantity).

Program

On the program, a series of conferences and discussions on the night and its economy. Architecture, urban planning, economy, environment, culture, security, academic research, diversity and inclusion, tourism and community involvement are on the agenda of these two days of exchange. This year’s theme will explore the different possibilities of the infinite space of the night.

All presentations and discussions will be available in simultaneous translation.

WEDNESDAY MAY 17

Morning (9:30 AM)

INTRODUCTION

0. OPENING REMARKS

Mathieu Grondin

MTL 24/24 (QC)

Presentation

1. Creative Footprint Montreal (in partnership with VibeLab)

Diana Raiselis

VibeLab (DE)

Mirik Milan

VibeLab (NL)

VibeLab presents key research findings and urban policy recommendations from Creative Footprint Montréal — the first comprehensive study of Montréal’s music and nightlife spaces and communities since COVID-19. Conducted in collaboration with PennPraxis, Montréal is the fifth city in the Creative Footprint research project — joining Berlin, New York, Tokyo and Stockholm.

Presentation

2. It takes a village: Holzmarkt Berlin

Benjamin Scheerbarth

Holzmarkt Berlin, Office ParkScheerbarth (DE)

Berlin exemplifies the productive synergies between alternative culture, identity, and the emergent knowledge economy. While history created a testbed for cultural diversity, today’s market pressures and regulatory frameworks threaten its existence. Amidst the turmoil, resourceful actors of the subcultural scene turn to urban development themselves — join in the awkward dance by learning from Berlin’s Holzmarkt project, a creative village in downtown Berlin with roots in the nightlife scene.

ROUNDTABLE

3. Designing a night time city (in partnership with McGill University)

Hosted by WILL STRAW

Professeur, McGill University (QC)

Cities and buildings are usually designed for the day. How might planners, architects and urban designers better imagine the spaces of night-time culture in cities? What kinds of night-time spaces do we need to make our nights lively, safe and inclusive? What can Montreal learn from the experience of other cities? This panel discussion brings together four leading experts on night time culture and the built environment to address these questions.

Afternoon (1:30 PM)

Presentation

4. Presenting PIP INTER-CITY: the new cultural park in The Hague

Steven van Lummel

Artistic Director, PIP Den Haag (NL)

David Schoch

Director, PIP Den Haag (NL)

For more than 16 years PIP Den Haag has been a multifaceted cultural space, contemporary urban incubator, production house and training universe. INTER-CITY evolves from PIP and will be The Hague’s new cultural hub. Located at an arm’s length from Central Station, on the fringes of the burgeoning real estate development in the former industrial Binckhorst area, INTER-CITY is a last attempt to resist gentrification and monoculture, to stand up to the suffocating market forces that increasingly rob cities of their character, humanity and diversity.

ROUNDTABLE

5. Cultural Development and Real Estate

Rebecca Godfrey

CBRE Tourism Consulting (CA)

Nik Ives-Allison

Night Lab (CA)

Julie Larsen

Cultural Planner, City of Vancouver (CA)

ANimé par Laura Beeston

MTL 24/24 (CA)

A conversation on the convergence of cultural placemaking and real estate, this panel will explore ways to bring creative communities and development, tourism and leasing interests together in alignment in the City of Montreal and beyond.

Presentation

6. Creating a ‘cultural sound zone’ in Sofielund, Malmö

Nicklas Johansson

Project Manager, City of Malmö (SE)

Working with music and sound for 30 years, Nicklas Johansson will showcase the innovative approaches that the City of Malmö took to mitigate noise from cultural activities and transform an industrial sector into Sweden’s first cultural sound zone. Shifting the narrative from a “bad neighbourhood” that needed to be rebuilt to a diverse cultural destination, the managers of Malmo’s cultural noise district are now tasked to keep developing – in a sustainable and inclusive way – until 2040. Hear how they did it and what will come next.

ROUNDTABLE

7. Jouer dehors: Placemaking, public engagement and outdoor night space

KADY YELLOW

Downtown Vision (US)

Anouk Bélanger

Université du Québec à Montréal (QC)

Benjamin Scheerbarth

Holzmarkt Berlin, Office ParkScheerbarth (DE)

Hosted by WILL STRAW

Professeur, McGill University (QC)

Public scenes, parks, urban places, viaducts, overpasses, vacant lots, built environments and more give cities their charm and have the potential to transform what’s outdoors into cultural and community spaces. This panel brings expert insights together to discuss outdoor space management, formats and ideas to build capacity, and sustainable, “bottom up” community use.

Cocktail

8. Networking cocktail

Presentation

9. City-Building in the Dust: What Can Permanent Cities Learn from Burning Man? - FREE! (6:30 PM)

$teven Ra$pa

Associate Director of Community Events at Burning Man (US)

Each year, Nevada’s Black Rock Desert gives rise to the world’s largest 24-hour pop-up city. Nearly 80,000 citizens come together to build and experience Black Rock City, a thriving community dedicated to creative collaboration, civic responsibility, and authentic self-expression. Burning Man has become an influential global cultural movement, offering models for public art, civic leadership, tactical urbanism and city design. Burning Man Project’s $teven Ra$pa will draw on his extensive experience working with artists, city leaders, and policy makers to share insights for nurturing DIY-culture, building community, prioritizing nightlife, and shaping civic life with joy and purpose.

FILM SCREENING

10. GOD SAID GIVE ‘EM DRUM MACHINES - FREE! (8:00 PM)

✦ Directed by Kristian R. Hill
✦ In presence of Jennifer Washington, producer
✦ RSVP here

The astonishing story behind one of Detroit’s great contributions to world culture: Techno, the electronic-music phenomenon created by black artists in the 1980s that transformed dance music internationally and blossomed into the multibillion-dollar industry of EDM today. Featuring interviews with Jeff Mills, Kevin Saunderson, Juan Atkins, Derrick May, among many more, this is a vast, compelling and highly educative cultural history of techno and musical innovation, of heritage and the people responsible for that heritage, with the city of Detroit at its very core.

THURSDAY MAY 18

Morning (10:00 AM)

Presentation

1. Buona Notte: Italian Night Management in partnership with ANCI

Simone d’Antonio

Associazione Italiana dei Comuni Italiani (IT)

This session presents the experiences of Turin and ToNite, a co-funded project with the EU. Creating and promoting new night time activities and services that are co-generated with local stakeholders and innovators, hear about urban regeneration strategies, technologies to monitor resident sentiment, and ways Turin is tackling its urgent urban security challenges. Learn how ToNite, with its innovative governance model, approaches some of the most interesting topics and debates in Italian night policies.

Roundtable

2. Secure spaces at Night (in partnership with the Global Cultural Districts Network)

Nik Ives-Allison

NightLab (CA)

Riccardo Ramello

Nottingham Trent University & Club Futuro (IT)

Carly Heath

Bristol City Council (UK)

Hosted by Randall White

24 Hour Nation (US)

As we continue to strive towards creating safer and more inclusive public spaces, the topic of security at night has become increasingly important.From physical security and inclusion in public spaces, to harm reduction approaches to COVID-19 and anti-sexual harassment, to crime and violence prevention, this panel of researchers, practitioners and policy experts offer best practices and insights, delving into the various challenges and opportunities associated with ensuring safety in public spaces at night.

Roundtable

3. Montreal femmes and safety at night (in partnership with URBANIA)

Camille Desrochers

GRIP (QC)

Nelly Dennene

Conseil des Montréalaises (QC)

Marilou Arsenault

Collectif Social (QC)

Hosted by Laïma A. Gérald

URBANIA (QC)

How safe is Montreal at night? How does our city’s built environments, festivals, dancefloors, and public spaces take into account the needs of women and nonbinary people? Is it possible to go beyond individual empowerment to create a safer culture within our communities? This expert panel provides insights and actions to ensure that nightlife in Montreal becomes a better space for everyone.

AFTERNOON (1:30 PM)

Presentation

4. FANTOM: underground nightlife consultation

Isis Gray

Program Manager, FANTOM

FANTOM shares the results and key takeaways from its consultation on the needs of Montreal’s underground nightlife communities, followed by preliminary recommendations and an outline of proposed projects. With over 100 responses from predominantly queer, trans, and BIPOC participants, FANTOM’s recent survey highlights emerging challenges and considerations that come directly from the artists, workers, and organisers in this field.

Roundtable

5. Alternative, independent, DIY and ‘third’ spaces

Amy Gottung

DIY Space Project (CA)

Arno Robin

L’Espacemaker (QC)

sebastian cowan

Arbutus Records, Système MTL (QC)

Hosted by emmanuelle hébert

Culture Montréal (QC)

Grassroots, do-it-yourself projects and 24-hour access to community spaces outside of the home and workplace requires grit, tenacity, creativity and collaboration from venue operators and co-locators. Gathering programmers, promoters and community organizations at the forefront of alternative scenes in Montreal and beyond, this panel explores what it takes to reclaim and repurpose spaces for the underground, what economic models are viable and what policy possibilities exist to ensure that these spaces can thrive.

Presentation

6. Transforming nightlife in Northern Ireland

Ciara Power

Queen’s University Belfast and Free the Night (IR)

Free The Night is a non-profit organisation committed to creating a safe, progressive and culturally rich environment for nightlife in Northern Ireland. Presenting findings from “Transforming nightlife in Northern Ireland,” their largest research project to date, PhD candidate Ciara Power shares data and insights collected from her PhD project on electronic music and nightlife in Belfast and Dublin. Using Northern Ireland as a primary case study, the keynote explores progressive licensing regulation and how it enhances sociocultural aspects of the night time economy.

Roundtable

7. Alcohol Extension Pilot Projects

Max Honigmann

Exposé Noir (QC)

Tasha Morizio

SDBSL (QC)

Thomas Peltier

Ville de Montréal (QC)

Jenny Thibault

Société des arts technologiques (QC)

Hosted by Mathieu Grondin

MTL 24/24 (QC)

Following positive results from the MTL 24/24 NON STOP pilot event in 2022, the City of Montreal launched a call for projects last fall for nonprofits wishing to also experiment with an extension of alcohol sales hours. This panel unpacks results from the initial testing phase of this measure, and looks forward to future regulations for events and cultural venues in the city.

Roundtable

8. Night Governance lessons

Raheem Manning

Director of the night economy of the City of Philadelphia (US)