OTL Blog

This Hallowe’en, horror-expert Donovan King is pleased to offer Haunted Mountain, a spooky walking tour up the slopes of Mount Royal.

After hailing victory in the battle for Cafe Cleopatre, Burlesque queen Velma Candyass and cultural worker Donovan King are putting Montreal’s Red Light District firmly back on the map! As a cultural war unfolds in The Main National Historic Site between artists and developers, King and Candyass are working on behalf of the living culture, history, and […]

Optative Theatrical Laboratories is proud to announce seven unique theatrical projects for the 2011 Montreal infringement festival. Traditional favourites like Car Stories will appear alongside Red Light District and Greening Montreal walking tours (including an ecological picnic), a birthday party to celebrate Cultural Resistance, a screening of our new film “Global Invisible Theatre”, plus a new theatre experiment […]

Optative Theatrical Laboratories, forever exploring cultural issues related to social justice, is pleased to team up with Montreal’s Urban Ecology Center for the 2011 edition of Jane’s Walk. Celebrating “walkable neighbourhoods, urban literacy, cities planned for and by people,” Jane’s Walk advocates the ideas and legacy of urbanist Jane Jacobs by encouraging people to explore their neighbourhoods and […]

A Canadian federal election has been called and never before have Montreal artists in the Quartier des Specatcles been so politically engaged and mobilized. A cultural war of unprecedented proportions is under way in the new Entertainment district, pitting an alliance corporate developers and the Mayor of Montreal against local artists,  heritage activists, and the […]

Artists are crying “Victory” in the Quartier des Spectacles after winning a David vs. Goliath battle that pitted powerful corporate interests against local artists at the Café Cleopatra, a popular burlesque venue and centre for alternative arts. Café Cleopatra hails from another era and symbolizes the city’s once thriving Red Light District. Situated within “The […]

Urban planning is often perceived as a professional and bureaucratic field that involves everything from traffic flow and sewer systems to city infrastructure and zoning bylaws. Although urban planning is not usually associated with activism or education (outside of specialized fields), change is in the air as both activists and teachers embrace urban planning as a tool for […]

Eyebrows are once again being raised concerning the competence of urban planning on the Lower Main. First came the wholesale evictions and gutting of the now-crumbling historic block on the west side of the Lower Main, effectively transforming an area where entertainment once thrived into a dangerous and boarded-up eyesore.  Now, on the south-east corner of Ste. Catherine Street […]

UPDATE (June 22) After a successful opening vernissge, the Dumpster Dive Art Drive has been on display in an undisclosed alleyway for the public to enjoy. One jogger who stumbled upon the opening said, “Thanks! You just made my day!” between chugs of red wine served to him in a brown paper bag. The great […]

Montreal’s Lower Main has been the site of controversy as of late, with powerful business interests squaring off against artists and heritage activists to determine the future of the historic stretch of road that was once the heart of Montreal’s bustling Red Light District. The battle has been characterized by powerful business interests dislocating the area’s […]