Place des Arts celebrates 60 years

Place des Arts, the largest performing arts centre in Canada, is celebrating its 60^th anniversary. The inauguration—on September 21, 1963—of La Grande Salle (now known as Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier) signalled the start of an extraordinary step forward in arts promotion and artistic development that transformed the cultural landscape in Quebec and its metropolis.

Today, Place des Arts consists of six performance halls—including the Maison symphonique—in addition to the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, which is housed within its quadrilateral, and the Fernand-Lindsay Amphitheatre in Joliette, which it has managed since 1995. A major performing arts venue, it presents 900 incredibly diverse shows and events to nearly a million spectators. This is made possible thanks to its producers, partners, resident organizations and associates: Duceppe, Les Grands Ballets, Opéra de Montréal, Orchestre métropolitain, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and Danse Danse—as well as festivals of all kinds that bring its public spaces to life before hundreds of thousands of people.

Place des Arts, as seen by...

Historians and privileged witnesses share their vision and memories. (In French)

Landmark Events

Journey through a few of Place des Arts’ significant events.