Additional Information
Like all the urban events lighting up Montreal this weekend, the Nuit Blanche at the Centre PHI will be back from Saturday to Sunday, until 3am. Under the theme of Nuit POP, the Centre PHI will be offering a host of activities and performances in real time, for a night that’s bursting at the seams. Concocted in conjunction with Pop Montréal, the line-up of artists promises to be impressive: Raphë, Rosario Caméléon, La FHomme, Jashim, Teikirisi, VIOV visuals and more. To find out more, PAN M 360 spoke to Renelle Desjardins Chiasson, Director of Programming at Centre PHI.
PAN M 360: How have previous Nuits blanches at the PHI Center gone? Has this become an annual tradition, since you’re taking up the collar again in 2025? Do you have a targeted audience, or is it more a case of people stopping by by chance, on the spur of the moment?
Renelle Desjardins Chiasson: Until now, the Nuit blanche at the Centre PHI has been a free cultural experience accessible to a varied clientele, including students, festival-goers, art lovers and tourists. By collaborating with local partners, the event aims to welcome 2,000 unique visitors, and to rank among the top 5 Nuit Blanche events in Montreal 2025.
PAN M 360: What is the route taken by night owls if they decide to drop in at the PHI Center among other nocturnal activities?
Renelle Desjardins Chiasson: Audiences can grab a bite, we’ll have churros, empanadas. Drop by the PHI among other destinations, or stay all evening because the programming is so diverse. It doesn’t have a specific itinerary, but there are 3 offerings from 9pm to 3am: 3 installations with performances in the public square, live music and DJ sets in the space on the 1st and 2nd floors, and the public can see Jean-Marc Vallée’s MIXTAPE exhibition until midnight. The party continues on the first floor until 3am.
PAN M 360: What is the concept of Nuit POP? How is it a POP night?
Renelle Desjardins Chiasson: Every year, the Spectra group launches a theme for the opening of applications – for official participation in this great cultural evening.
Our team rallies around the theme suggested by Spectra. So we explore the term “pop”: pop music, pop culture, pop art, popping, pop of color, pop-up – its ephemeral, off-the-wall side – the sound of a bubble bursting and everything else that this onomatopoeia evokes.We’ve done this in the past: in 2019, for example, it was “The Future” and we presented the An/ demain evening; in 2020 it was “green” and we presented Simulation / Acceleration.
PAN M 360: Did you work in collaboration with POP MTL? What else?
Renelle Desjardins Chiasson: For the musical programming, I worked with Daniel Seligman. For the public space, it’s a team effort with our in-house team specifically, this year with Clara Boulinguez, Hédi Rollet, Raphë, Maxime Lacoue, Émilie Heckmann, Sylvain Dumais and Vincent Lafrenière.
PAN M 360: Can you tell us a bit about each of the artistic performances on the program?
- Raphë + guests: an artist who has become an essential part of our Nuit blanche. Very generous in what he offers, he gives his all. They practice performance art and video art. Not to be missed all evening long!
- Rosario Caméléon: a discovery! The artist describes herself as electroclash, sexy, playful, grotesque, rebellious pop, + very pussy!
- La FHomme: a polyrhythmic, intercultural DJ set experience, demonstrating the great diversity of Montreal’s communities.
- Jashim: an artist from El Choko, Colombia, with an interesting multimedia approach to his music. Jashim concludes his performance live.
- Uñas: DJ set – solo project by Chris Vargas, former singer with the duo PELADA.
- Teikirisi: Honduran DJ and producer — my mom’s country, where I lived and went to school! She has a sure taste and a masterful hand for mixing. She mixes the vibrant and diverse sounds of the Latinx-American diaspora.
- VIOV’s visuals in collaboration with Jaime Salgado: yes Laura and Jaime, both from the Latinx community, show us their visual talents in the spaces and also during the musical performances. Studio VIOV and Jaime were suggested to me by artist JASHIM, who is collaborating with Jaime on the artistic direction of his project. What a discovery!
PAN M 360: The Centre PHI has its own identity. Is this reflected in Nuit Pop?
Renelle Desjardins Chiasson: Absolutely!
