COMMUNITY GATHERING : UNE NOUVELLE VAGUE
A COLLECTIVE PORTRAIT OF MONTREAL
Montreal’s creative scene is in constant motion : restless, searching, and endlessly reshaping itself. To capture this spirit, La Dérive turned to direct voices from the community, asking artists, curators, designers, cultural workers and the public a simple but charged question: what does the Nouvelle Vague mean today?
Rather than looking back at the French film movement as a fixed reference, this project reimagines the Nouvelle Vague as a living metaphor for cultural emergence; an invitation to think of Montreal’s artistic energy as its own wave, carried by those who make, question, and disrupt.
Through spontaneous interviews gathered during our first community gathering, and a video montage of these fragments, we begin to sketch a portrait of a city where creativity is less about institutions and more about collective presence. The answers are fragmented, contradictory, poetic, and that’s precisely the point. Montreal’s Nouvelle Vague resists singular definition; it thrives in multiplicity.
Through spontaneous interviews gathered during our first community gathering, and a video montage of these fragments, we begin to sketch a portrait of a city where creativity is less about institutions and more about collective presence. The answers are fragmented, contradictory, poetic, and that’s precisely the point. Montreal’s Nouvelle Vague resists singular definition; it thrives in multiplicity.
WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT MONTREAL’S CREATIVE SCENE RIGHT NOW ?
Across conversations, a striking consensus emerged: the city’s creative energy feels more open than ever. People spoke of accessibility: spaces where anyone can step in, whether as an artist, cultural worker, or audience member. They emphasized diversity, both in voices and in forms, and the solidarity that comes from shared challenges and collective effort.
This sense of accessibility doesn’t dilute ambition; it fuels it. Many described a dynamism that creates opportunities across disciplines: musicians collaborating with visual artists, designers working alongside filmmakers, cultural workers building bridges with grassroots initiatives. What excites people most is not only the vibrancy of each project but the way they interlace into a broader fabric, shaping a community that feels at once porous, bold, and generational.
This sense of accessibility doesn’t dilute ambition; it fuels it. Many described a dynamism that creates opportunities across disciplines: musicians collaborating with visual artists, designers working alongside filmmakers, cultural workers building bridges with grassroots initiatives. What excites people most is not only the vibrancy of each project but the way they interlace into a broader fabric, shaping a community that feels at once porous, bold, and generational.
IN THIS SPIRIT, WHAT DOES “NOUVELLE VAGUE” MEAN TO YOU ?
For some, the “New Wave” represents a clear break with traditions; a refusal to follow inherited paths, a call to invent new ways of making, showing, and sharing. For others, it means reinvention: revisiting traditions with fresh mindsets, reframing them through the lens of today’s concerns, and bringing forward perspectives that had long been overlooked.
What unites these responses is the idea of renewal. “Nouvelle Vague” becomes more than a label; it signals a reimagining of Montréal’s cultural identity, led by a generation that values openness, collaboration, and experimentation. It is both a continuity and a departure, a reminder that the city’s creative force thrives when it balances legacy with risk, and solidarity with invention.
What unites these responses is the idea of renewal. “Nouvelle Vague” becomes more than a label; it signals a reimagining of Montréal’s cultural identity, led by a generation that values openness, collaboration, and experimentation. It is both a continuity and a departure, a reminder that the city’s creative force thrives when it balances legacy with risk, and solidarity with invention.
REFLECTIONS
What emerges from these fleeting exchanges is not a single definition, but a chorus. Each voice adds its own inflection to what the Nouvelle Vague might mean here and now; a reminder that culture is never static, but built in the everyday gestures of those who shape it.
In this sense, Montréal’s creative scene feels less like an industry and more like a living fabric. The city’s new wave doesn’t arrive with a manifesto; it grows through encounters, friendships, and the spark of collective experimentation.
Despite hyper-datafication, digitization and algorithmification, our generation is showcasing a desire to foster human and real-life projects, carrying the pulse of cities like ours.
In this sense, Montréal’s creative scene feels less like an industry and more like a living fabric. The city’s new wave doesn’t arrive with a manifesto; it grows through encounters, friendships, and the spark of collective experimentation.
Despite hyper-datafication, digitization and algorithmification, our generation is showcasing a desire to foster human and real-life projects, carrying the pulse of cities like ours.
With this project, La Dérive bids a temporary farewell to Montréal as we prepare to continue our journey in Paris. Our aim is not departure but extension: to build new bridges between Montréal’s creatives and international audiences, to carry its voices into conversations abroad while welcoming fresh influences back.
On a personal closing note, Montréal is the city that allowed me to discover myself in these worlds; not only as a worker and a public, but as a creator. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunities, the experiences, and above all the community that has shaped me here.
From Paris, I remain committed to amplifying Montréal’s voices, championing the projects and people who make its cultural scene so vital and unique.
On a personal closing note, Montréal is the city that allowed me to discover myself in these worlds; not only as a worker and a public, but as a creator. I am endlessly grateful for the opportunities, the experiences, and above all the community that has shaped me here.
From Paris, I remain committed to amplifying Montréal’s voices, championing the projects and people who make its cultural scene so vital and unique.
This montage of testimonies becomes both a portrait and a promise: a record of a city in motion, and an opening toward what comes next.
FEATURED PROFILES
@julius.cesaratto, writer and designer
@tamachix, writer and content creator
@canepasa, content creator
@mathou x, photographer
@charleslebrun, visual artist
@leowilsoncarrier, music producer
@margue.rite, director and photographer
WORKERS:
@tamachix (@collectioncollection & @mbam)
@feu_marcheavecmoi (@dhakiracollective)
PUBLIC :
@briceee__
@purppmess
@lexie.love2k1
@tamachix (@collectioncollection & @mbam)
@feu_marcheavecmoi (@dhakiracollective)
PUBLIC :
@briceee__
@purppmess
@lexie.love2k1
@_vincentcaron
@pema.edelmann
@elichavarie
@jeannemarengere
@nairaude
@juliannemontplaisir
@justinpeu
@elisemzlb
WORDS: Solveig Wilson Carrier
@solveigcarrier
@solveigcarrier
2025
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