winter arts calendar montreal replica agora danse

Replica, Agora de la Danse. Photo by Jeanne Tetrault

Arts & Life

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

by Savannah Stewart

The most promising plays, dance productions and exhibitions in Montreal this season.

The Arts Calendar for Winter 2025 features the most promising plays, dance productions, visual art exhibitions and multimedia experiences happening and launching in Montreal in February and March.

To Build Law

To Build Law is a documentary by Francesco Garutti and director Joshua Frank that follows bplus.xyz (b+) and station.plus (s+) as they launch HouseEurope!, a policy lab advocating for systemic change in the construction industry. With the sector responsible for 38% of global carbon emissions and driven by profit-focused redevelopment, the film captures efforts to shift cultural and legal norms by promoting renovation over demolition. As part of Groundwork, a three-part film and exhibition series at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), To Build Law documents architecture as an open, collaborative process — where legislation, storytelling and activism converge to reshape the built environment. To Build Law is screening at the CCA (1920 Baile) through May 25

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Dear Laila

In an intimate, interactive installation at MAI, artist Basel Zaraa attempts to answer his five-year-old daughter’s questions about the land he cannot take her to. Recreating his childhood home in the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, the work offers a deeply personal yet universal story of displacement and resistance. Through one Palestinian family’s experience, Dear Laila reveals how war and exile shape everyday life, turning memory into a form of survival. Inviting in one viewer at a time, it is a testament to the power of storytelling in reclaiming lost places. All profits from ticket sales will support the Palestinian Youth Movement, and entry is free for Palestinians. Dear Laila is on at the MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) from Feb. 6 to 22

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Joyce Wieland: Heart On 

This latest exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a landmark retrospective celebrating the radical art of Joyce Wieland (1930–1998), one of Canada’s most influential artists. Over 100 works spanning four decades are on display, including drawings, paintings, collages, films, textiles and prints. Exploring Wieland’s engagement with feminism, social justice and ecology, the exhibition highlights her innovative approach and lasting impact on contemporary art. Co-organized with the Art Gallery of Ontario, with key loans from the National Gallery of Canada and a special collaboration with Cinémathèque québécoise, Heart On reaffirms Wieland’s significance as a global figure in 20th-century art and film. Joyce Wieland: Heart On is on at the Museum of Fine Arts (1380 Sherbrooke W.) from Feb. 8 to May 4

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Vierge

Black Theatre Workshop’s latest production, Vierge, follows 16-year-old Divine, whose only true friend is Jesus — that is, until her family joins a new church, which reveals a world more complex than she imagined. The play explores faith, virginity and teenage desires through the lives of four Congolese-Canadian girls, starring Espoir Segbeaya as Divine, directed by Dian Marie Bridge and written by Rachel Mutombo. Vierge is on at the Segal Centre (5170 Côte-Ste-Catherine) from Feb. 12 to March 2

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Jean-Marc Vallée: Mixtape

This multimedia and sound-driven exhibition at PHI Centre immerses visitors in the creative world of the late, acclaimed Quebec director Jean-Marc Vallée, where music was the heartbeat of his storytelling. Drawing on testimonies from collaborators and loved ones, the exhibition explores Vallée’s deep connection to music as both inspiration and creative process. Through five immersive installations and a rich sound environment, Mixtape highlights key moments in his career while offering an intimate journey into the mind of a filmmaker who translated emotion into cinema through the power of music. Free entry, reservation required. Jean-Marc Vallée: Mixtape is on at PHI Centre (407 St-Pierre) from Feb. 13 to May 4

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

NIEBO HOTEL

NIEBO HOTEL is an immersive dance experience that will transform Montreal’s le Germain Hotel into a living stage. A collaboration between Ballets Jazz Montréal, CAPAS, Danse Danse, la Parenthèse and Germain Hotels, this unique performance, choreographed by Christophe Garcia, invites audiences into intimate hotel rooms where dance, music and visuals bring human connections to life. For an hour, spectators will follow a personalized journey, becoming both witnesses and participants in this poetic exploration of memory and emotion. Blending art and hospitality, NIEBO HOTEL offers an encounter with contemporary dance in an evocative, close-up setting. NIEBO HOTEL is on at le Germain (2050 Mansfield) from Feb. 18 to March 1

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Life Chronicles (Mondes disparus)

In just 43 minutes, Life Chronicles takes audiences on a breathtaking VR journey through time, following Charlie and her robot Darwin as they explore nine extinct ecosystems filled with extraordinary lifeforms spanning 3.5 billion years of evolution. From the microbial world of the Archean era to the towering forests of the Carboniferous and the mighty dinosaurs of the Cretaceous, each paleo-landscape is rooted in real fossil sites across the globe. Well-researched and scientifically accurate, this immersive exhibit will introduce you to over 160 plant and animal species from worlds past. Life Chronicles/Mondes disparus is on at 2 de la Commune W. from Feb. 19 to April 27

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Adventures

A poignant blend of fairy tale and raw reality, Adventures follows PJ and Wendy as they stand at the cusp of a life-changing moment beneath the roots of the Mother Tree in a time of collective grief. Starring Ann-Marie Kerr and directed by Christian Barry, this powerful production is a collaboration between Imago Theatre and Keep Good (Theatre) Company, presented as part of WinterWorks, a curated series of experimental performances and events. Adventures is on at Centaur Theate (453 St-François-Xavier) from Feb. 25 to March 1

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Those Roots Within

Those Roots Within is a contemporary dance duet by Alida Esmail, Sophia Wright, and Hodan Youssouf, exploring the meeting of Deaf and hearing cultures through movement, signed music, vibrations and lighting. As Esmail and Youssouf trace their ancestors’ journeys across a shifting world map, their intersecting and diverging paths reflect themes of immigration, identity and allyship. Each performance at the MAI offers LSQ and ASL interpretation, with a post-show talkback on Feb. 28 and inclusive childcare with a co-creative workshop on March 1. Those Roots Within is a powerful exploration of connection, history and communication through dance. Those Roots Within is on at MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) from Feb. 26 to March 1

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Replica

From Andrea Peña & Artists dance company, presented at Agora de la danse, Replica is a choreographic odyssey led by dancers Frédérique Rodier and James Philipps, blending myth and technology to explore the history of the body’s representation and non-binary identity. Set in an immersive “queer Garden of Eden,” the performance challenges gendered conceptions of the human form through movement that evokes painting, sculpture and archaeology. Replica is on at Agora de la Danse (Edifice Wilder, 1435 de Bleury #102) from Feb. 26 to March 1

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Nuit Blanche

Montreal’s annual late-night art party with tons of music, nightlife, performance, visual art, film and food events and workshops — and, in many cases, events combining several of these — happening at venues around the city, way into the wee hours. It’s the climax of the annual Montréal en Lumière festival, and while the full programming had not yet been revealed at press time, we can tell you that Cult MTL has once again partnered with PHI Centre for their always-bumping Nuit Blanche event — this year it’s La Nuit POP, a collaboration with the POP Montreal music festival. Nuit Blanche takes place on March 1 at various venues around Montreal

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

agency

agency is a powerful visual arts exhibition at the MAI by tīná gúyáńí, the parent-child duo of Glenna Cardinal and seth cardinal dodginghorse, reflecting on the loss of their ancestral home in Tsuut’ina Nation due to a land transfer for the Southwest Calgary Ring Road. Through film, music and visual arts, they critique colonial institutions that continue to displace Indigenous families while exploring themes of land, healing and reclamation. More than a chronicle of forced removal, agency envisions self-determined non-colonial, and non-patriarchal ways of reconnecting with home, kinship, and the land. agency is on at MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance) from March 6 to 29

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Skyscrapers by the Roots – Reflections on Late Modernism

Skyscrapers by the Roots explores the lasting impact of late modernist architecture through works by Shannon Bool, Kapwani Kiwanga, Rachel Rose, Jonathan Schouela and a new film installation by David Hartt, alongside 1960s and 1970s pieces by Lynne Cohen and François Dallegret. The exhibition examines how functionalism and technological innovation shaped climate-controlled interiors, modular design, accessibility and media integration — once symbols of progress, now deeply entwined with the blurring of private life, labour, consumption and spectacle. Through a critical lens, it reflects on modernism’s complex legacy in contemporary spaces. Skyscrapers by the Roots is at the MAC (Place Ville-Marie) from March 6 to Aug. 10

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

On What Ground

An interactive exploration of how we find, shape and leave the cities that define us, On What Ground blends music, movement, and open conversations between artists and audience. A dynamic performance by Other Hearts Collective, investigating what truly makes a place the place. Created and performed by Eris Thomas, Yousef Kadoura, Sebastian Marzialli, Silvae Mercedes and Eija Loponen-Stephenson, the piece evolves in real-time, weaving together personal stories and collective experiences to reimagine our connections to the spaces we inhabit. Presented as part of Centaur Theatre’s WinterWorks, a curated series of experimental performances and events. On What Ground is at Centaur (453 St-Francois Xavier) from March 7 to 8

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

Resurrection

Part cabaret, part documentary theatre and part live podcast event, Resurrection brings to life the story of Michael Callen — an activist, musician and key figure in the AIDS self-empowerment movement. Based on the acclaimed Resurrection podcast, which has ranked among Canada’s Top 15 and was named one of Amazon Music’s Best Podcasts of 2023, this performance sheds light on the resilience and activism of queer communities affected by HIV/AIDS. Praised by AIDS activists, including Sean Strub of POZ Magazine, Resurrection is an exploration of history, activism, and the fight for justice. Part of Centaur Theatre’s WinterWorks, a curated series of experimental performances and events. Resurrection is at Centaur Theatre (453 St-Francois-Xavier), March 11 to 15

Montreal Arts Calendar for Winter 2025

For more art events in Montreal, please visit our daily To-Do List and Event listings. This article was originally published in the February 2025 issue of Cult MTL.

For our latest in arts and life, please visit the Arts & Life section.

Posted in Arts & Life

by Savannah Stewart

Contributing editor for Arts
Savannah Stewart is a freelance journalist and Managing Editor at The Rover. She is passionate about community reporting and is happiest writing about art, language and culture in Montreal.