From Friday, September 26 to Sunday, September 28, Montreal-North will pulse to the rhythm of the Journées de la culture.
The exhaustive list of events for the Journées de la culture 2025 for the entire territory of Montreal is generally published in mid-September.
Its programming highlights the art, creativity and heritage of the community.
It's a great opportunity to come together and celebrate the cultural richness that unites residents.
The event encourages the involvement of professional artists while promoting the cultural and intergenerational diversity of the neighborhood.
An inclusive and festive celebration highlighting local talents and multicultural traditions that shape the borough's identity.
The borough of Montreal-North recently announced a list of events planned there.
Among the flagship activities:
Art on Fleury Street: A group exhibition with live performances at Galerie 3440, organized by Visual Artists of Northern Montreal.
"Cuisine ton quartier" (Cook Your Neighborhood): An immersive podcast by ATSA – Quand l’Art passe à l’Action, promoting intercultural dialogues and the fight against discrimination.
"Montréal en toutes lettres" (Montreal in all its letters): Poetic banners created by residents, exhibited at the Maison culturelle et communautaire.
Richarson Dorvil Exhibition: A photographic journey through Haiti, inaugurated at Louis-Querbes Park.
Textile Poetic Trail: Words from elders transformed into visual works in a mini urban forest at Eusèbe-Ménard Park.
Poetry Workshop: At the Henri-Bourassa library, a workshop that values women and the human condition through collage and writing.
"Dans le creux de l’oreille" (In the hollow of the ear): Reading of Quebec tales by Robert Payant at Maison Brignon-Dit-Lapierre.
Live Mural: Collective creation of an ephemeral work with artist Julian Palma.
Sing! Sing!: A children's choir performing musical works at Place Do-Rémi.
Open-Air Cinema: Screening of the film "Elli et l’équipe des monstres" at Aimé-Léonard Park.
Drone Show: A luminous performance in the sky, closing Saturday's day.
Sunday will continue this momentum with dance performances, creative workshops for children, artistic encounters, and acrobatic shows.
For more details: https://montreal.ca/articles/les-journees-de-la-culture-montreal-nord-97914
The Journées de la culture is an annual and free event, a must-attend celebration of arts and culture that takes place throughout Quebec on the last weekend of September.
Montreal then transforms into a huge cultural scene.
The importance of this event is multifaceted.
First, its objective is to democratize access to culture. By offering thousands of free activities—shows, workshops, guided tours, and demonstrations—the Journées de la culture allow people of all ages and backgrounds to actively engage in the cultural life of their community.
Scope and social impact
The Journées de la culture have a considerable social impact.
They strengthen the bond between citizens and artists, creating bridges between different artistic disciplines and audiences.
This event is a unique opportunity to see behind the scenes of creations, meet cultural artisans, and participate in collective projects.
The exhaustive list of events for the Journées de la culture 2025 for the entire territory of Montreal is generally not published until mid-September.
However, here are several activities that have been announced for the period of the event and are likely to be included.
You can thus elaborate on the subject using these examples, which come from various boroughs and cultural sites:
Maison de la culture de Côte-des-Neiges: Exhibitions are planned, such as "Fleurir : le secret de l'invisible" by Katy Lemay (from September 27 to November 30, 2025), as well as other artistic events.
Verdun Borough: A "photos in Verdun" project is underway until September 2025.
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts: Several exhibitions will still be running during the Journées de la culture, including "Worlds and Wonders: The Surrealist Journey of Alan Glass" and "Two by Two Together: Recent Additions to the MMFA Collection," both of which end in late September or early October 2025.
Pointe-à-Callière: This archaeology and history museum, located in Old Montreal, has already participated in the event and is in the habit of offering guided tours to discover the architecture of its pavilions.
City of Montreal East: An event for the Journées de la culture is scheduled for October 18, which is "La Grande Marche de Montréal-Est" as part of the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie, to be held at Parc de l'Hôtel-de-Ville.
Quartier des spectacles: The Festival international de la littérature (FIL) and the Festival POP Montréal, which also take place during the Journées de la culture, often offer free activities.
In summary, the complete programming is not yet available, but consulting the websites of the City of Montreal, Culture Montréal, as well as the museums and cultural centers of each borough will allow you to obtain precise information as the event approaches.
The available data on the attendance and economic impact of cultural events in Montreal in 2024 is partial, as complete annual reports are often published later in the year or the following year.
However, recent data and studies make it possible to identify the following trends:
Economic Impact A study by the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal from late 2024 revealed that the direct contribution of the arts and culture sector to Montreal's economy was 9.2 billion dollars, or about 6% of its GDP.
Event Attendance
According to the same study, attendance at live arts events (indoor shows, whether paid or not) decreased by 19% over a five-year period (between 2018 and 2023), despite an increase in supply.
A study by the Institut de la statistique du Québec on cultural practices in 2024 indicates that more than half of the population visited a museum institution or an exhibition during the year.
Public libraries are also very popular, with 49% of the population having visited at least once.
The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts reported in its 2023 report an attendance of 520,000 visitors, a figure comparable to its best pre-pandemic years.
These global figures illustrate the important economic role of the cultural sector in Montreal.
The Journées de la culture are much more than a simple festival; they are a pillar of the Montreal cultural ecosystem, allowing culture to flourish outside traditional circuits and to reach the entire population.