On Saturday, February 28, Place des Arts and the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) will present the third edition of Poetry Night, as part of Montréal en Lumière. After breaking a crowd record with more than 6,000 curious minds during the Nuit blanche last year, Poetry Night is establishing itself as an unmissable Quebec artistic event. From 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., the public will be able to move freely in the spaces of Place des Arts to discover several free and accessible activities: Poetry Night including this year interpretations in Quebec Sign Language (LSQ), new musical performances on the Baschet structures, Parameters XXV exhibition, Métallophytes media work on the screen mosaic, theater at Duceppe and concerts by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (OSM) at the House symphonic. A surprise performance will also enliven the Georges-Émile-Lapalme cultural space from midnight!
The public is invited to spend a night filled with emotions and surprises, where tongues and bodies will loosen to create a powerful and touching event! PROGRAMMING Poetry Night | Poetry readings and dance improvisations An even more inclusive edition Conceived by poet and UQAM professor Marc André Brouillette, for a second consecutive year, Poetry Night will unite words, music, bodies and images across the spaces of the cultural hotspot that is Place des Arts. Artists from the poetic, musical and choreographic scene will come together to offer intimate, caring and committed universes.New: poems translated simultaneously into Quebec sign languageIn addition to opening at the Urban Salon with Innu poet Joséphine Bacon, Elder in residence at UQAM, more than 25 poets from all generations and cultures, including Dominique Fortier, France Théorêt, Camille Readman Prud’homme and Tania Langlais, will in turn share their love of words. The Port de tête bookstore will be back to allow the public to acquire the works of poets.
Poetry Night | Performances of Baschet structuresIn the Georges-Émile-Lapalme cultural space, the public will attend musical performances by teachers and students from the UQAM music department on Baschet sound structures, percussive instruments as visual as they are vibrant created in the 1950s by the Baschet brothers and having deeply inspired contemporary music, including electronic music. Poetry Night | Media work MÉTALLOPHYTES The media work Métallophytes (2025) by UQAM students Marie Di Caro and Audrey Grandchamp will be broadcast continuously on the mosaic of screens at the Georges-Émile-Lapalme cultural space. The work deploys different landscapes formed by a poetic text addressing essential environmental issues.
Parameters Exhibition XXVThe 25th edition of the Parameters exhibition will present the richness of the works of students from the UQAM School of Visual and Media Arts, selected by a jury composed of faculty members.
The School promotes multidisciplinary training and Parameters demonstrates the richness of its programs thanks to the diversity and quality of the work carried out by its students. An opportunity to explore the creativity of emerging artists!
Surprise performances Two 15-minute musical performances with vibrant artists will take place at the Georges-Émile Lapalme cultural space, in collaboration with the Society for the Advancement of French Song.
La Nuit blanche chez Duceppe with Collège Lionel-Groulx Like last year, Duceppe will welcome second-year students from the Professional Theater School at Collège Lionel-Groulx, under the supervision of actor and professor Daniel Parent. They will present a montage of extracts from three plays by playwright and director Olivier Kemeid: The Aeneid, Five Kings: the story of our fall, as well as Revenge and Oblivion. These three stories will combine to illustrate the complexity of power, filiation and the journey of refugees in search of a land where peace reigns. The Montreal Symphony Orchestra Brass and Bells in Light: 30-minute concerts
At Espace OSM:* 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: instrument discovery activity for children* 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.: improvisation workshop on the theme The evocative power of music
Complete schedule for the Nuit blanche at Place des Arts Saturday, February 28, 2026 from 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Noon to 1 a.m.: Parameters XXV exhibition, Place des Arts exhibition hall 8 p.m. to 11:45 p.m.: Performances by Baschet structures, George-Émile-Lapalme cultural space 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.: Poetry night, Place des Arts urban salon 8 p.m. 30, 9:45 p.m., 11 p.m.: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Maison symphonique 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.: La Nuit blanche chez Duceppe with the Lionel-Groulx College, Jean-Duceppe Theater Midnight: Surprise performances, Georges-Émile-Lapalme cultural space Continuous: Screening of the media work MÉTALLOPHYTES, Screen mosaic of the Georges-Émile-Lapalme cultural space
Place des Arts 175, rue Sainte-Catherine OuestSaturday, February 28, 2026 from 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Free admission – no reservation requiredConsult the complete Nuit blanche de la Place des Arts program for all the details.