A new data aggregator has just been put online to increase the discoverability of cultural offerings throughout Quebec. Its name: La Vitrine.
Updated yesterday at 3:56 p.m.
Funded to the tune of $6 million by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, La Vitrine aims to promote to consumers the vast cultural offerings prevalent in the province.
Offered free of charge, both to the public and to organizations working in culture, this cultural data aggregator brings together, at the time of writing, some 11,000 events, exhibitions and shows presented in 526 locations across the province. Humor, theater, dance, cinema, visual arts… the range of disciplines is wide. Online searches allow you to sort by region, date, discipline or even target audience. Each event is described in a few sentences. The duration of the show is often indicated. A link to a ticketing service is always provided, unless the event is free.
For Monique Simard, president of the board of directors of La Vitrine, the goal of this new digital tool is clear: to attract more spectators to performance halls, cinemas and museums. “The pandemic has had an impact on habits, we know that. Many have become accustomed to a form of cultural consumption that distances them from live broadcasts. A portion of the clientele did not return; we must win it back,” she explained during a press conference held at the Society of Technological Arts.
The big challenge remains to discover everything that Quebec has to offer culturally. With La Vitrine, we are offering something scalable, which will improve over time.
Monique Simard, president of the board of directors of La vitrine
For Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture and Communications, La Vitrine is “the most strategic project in the digital space, because there are discoverability challenges in the cultural sector. » “We won’t be able to fight against the giants if we don’t stick together. We needed a tool to move forward. And we fully intend to continue supporting La Vitrine in the future. »
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Minister Mathieu Lacombe believes that La Vitrine will help overcome the challenges of discoverability of cultural offerings in Quebec.
In addition to getting the public out of the house to return to performance halls, the minister believes that La Vitrine will be able to generate business intelligence for the cultural sector. “This knowledge could be invaluable. »
Mani Soleymanlou, ambassador of La Vitrine and, notably, artistic director of the French Theater of the National Arts Center, explains how this business intelligence could change the situation. “This will allow us to better understand the public’s purchasing habits to better reach them. For example, the fact that people increasingly buy their tickets at the last minute. »
The latter is delighted to see the birth of a research tool that covers the entirety of Quebec’s cultural offerings. And he intends to use it. “I know what happens in theater, but I don’t have that knowledge in music. La Vitrine will allow me to discover new artists and new places. Additionally, navigation is very easy. »
Same story with actress Guylaine Tremblay, also an ambassador for the project. “I have a 2-year-old daughter and I’m going to check La Vitrine to find all the shows intended for families. I want to make her an avid spectator! »
The arrival of La Vitrine is also seen as a “gift from heaven” for several cultural actors in the region. Marc-Antoine Dufresne, deputy artistic director and communications director of the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée, explains: “La Vitrine is a very powerful tool for maintaining contact with the public or developing new audiences. The tool will help compensate for the reduction in media space for coverage of events outside Montreal, in addition to allowing tourists to discover the cultural diversity of all our regions. »
Visit the La Vitrine page
