International Downtown Association (IDA) Annual Conference in Toronto
Effet Québec —an initiative of XN Québec— in collaboration with the City of Montréal, the SODEC, the Québec Office in Toronto, Investissement Québec International, and the Quartier des spectacles de Montréal, is organizing a Québec delegation composed of studio producers, creators, broadcasters, and distributors dedicated to digital creativity to participate in the annual IDA 2026 conference.
In addition to the official IDA program, the City of Montreal is presenting the “Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse” booth in the Marketplace, where companies in the delegation will be able to showcase their projects, expertise, and services, network with professionals attending the event, and schedule meetings on-site.
A networking event, organized by Investissement Québec International, the Quebec General Delegation in Houston, and the Quebec Office in Toronto, will be held on Wednesday, September 2, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. (by invitation only).
The delegation receives financial support from the City of Montréal, the SODEC and Investissement Québec International.
The International Downtown Association’s annual conference is the premier gathering of inspired leaders who are shaping cities around the world.
Now in its 72nd year, the conference brings together more than 1,300 representatives and decision-makers from municipalities and cultural districts around the world to discuss industry trends, share best practices, and discover the latest innovations in the field.
The event will take place in Toronto from September 1 to 3, in partnership with its co-hosts, the Downtown Toronto BIA Alliance (DTBIAA) and the City of Toronto.
Participating companies
Ottomata
Hugo Laliberté – Co Founder
Founded in Montreal in 2017, Ottomata crafts interactive installations and immersive journeys that spark curiosity through art. We create sentient environments where advanced technology seamlessly fades into magic. Focusing on the “Zero Moment”, that intuitive, immediate immersion, our digital works empower audiences to freely explore without complex instructions or wearable devices. By engaging the physical body, we let individuals dictate their own experience at their own pace. From local festivals to international stages, we design accessible spaces of reflection, emotion, and wonder.
The Whimsical Toy Chest
The Whimsical Toy Chest transforms ice rinks into magical interactive projections. Using real-time projection and motion tracking, the ice becomes a dynamic digital canvas that reacts to every skater. Inspired by childhood games, visual and sound elements emerge beneath your skates. The experience offers three thirty-minute immersive universes: floating worlds, neon arcades, and volcanic terrains. Shaped by collective energy, this ever-evolving adventure brings imagination to life.
Gentilhomme
Mathieu Rochette – Business development manager
Gentilhomme is a Montreal-based, multidisciplinary creative studio specializing in the concept, design, and production of architecturally integrated multimedia experiences. By seamlessly merging art, architecture, and technology, the studio transforms physical structures and facades into living canvases. From early-stage technical strategy to CGI and real-time content production, Gentilhomme partners closely with architects and engineers to deliver large-scale, immersive installations, particularly within complex environments such as major international airports and urban atriums.
Berczy Square Digital Atrium
At the heart of this Toronto revitalization, Gentilhomme delivered the content master plan and technology consulting for an impressive 90-foot LED screen installed in the atrium. This generative, living artwork syncs in real time with natural cycles, weather and urban activity. Moving beyond static video loops, this responsive digital canvas comes alive with daylight patterns and the local sports calendar, grounding this sustainable architecture in the pulse of the city.
TRANSVERSAL
Hamie Robitaille – Co-founder and Creative Director
Ganesh Baron Aloir – Co-founder & Chief Technology Officer
TRANSVERSAL specializes in creating immersive experiences and interactive installations that transcend connection. By combining sound, light, video, and connected objects (IoT), the studio integrates design and technology to transform collective spaces into tangible experiences. TRANSVERSAL has established itself as a leading studio, with notable collaborations such as Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, DPT studio, Oasis Immersion, Pointe-à-Callière Museum, Quartier des Spectacles Partnership and Fjord Oslo Festival, along with multiple awards (NUMIX, Communication Arts, LIT Design Award, Applied Arts).
Parallels
Parallels is an interactive light installation that transforms public space into a collective experience. Modular structures equipped with responsive luminous tubes invite visitors to shape light, sound and media through movement. As interactions combine, the experience expands beyond the installation itself, activating architectural projections, dynamic lighting, LED screens, fountains and other urban infrastructure. By turning the city into a responsive environment, Parallels encourages collaboration, play and meaningful connections between people.
Daily tous les jours
Leyla Nahas – Partner, Business Development
Daily tous les jours is a Montreal-based art and design studio creating interactive public artworks that transform shared spaces into places of connection, play, and discovery. Since 2010, the studio has realized acclaimed projects in more than 60 cities worldwide, pioneering a practice at the intersection of public art, placemaking, and experience design. Its multidisciplinary team partners with cities, developers, museums, and institutions to deliver memorable, award-winning experiences that strengthen communities and turn everyday encounters into extraordinary collective moments.
Dance Stoops
Dance Stoops is a series of interactive, modular structures that transform public spaces into places of play, music, and collective connection. By inviting people to engage where they are, the installation reveals their ability to create music and movement together, simply by walking, stepping, or dancing. Powered by sound and light, Dance Stoops creates joyful, photogenic moments that attract people day and night. Inclusive and intuitive for all ages and abilities, it offers hassle-free deployment, weather resistance, and quick assembly.
QDSInternational
Soukeina El Isbihani – Development and Touring Manager
QDSinternational turns public space into a playground. Born in 2022 from the momentum of the Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles, our Montréal based team transforms public space into a collective playground. Placemaking, artistic direction and urban activation, we orchestrate it all in collaboration with leading creative studios from around the world. Every project is custom built for its site and audience, using art as a tool to reveal the full potential of public space.
Lucia – Anne Lagacé & Gonzalo Soldi
Part tale, part interactive sculpture, Lucia lights up the heart of cities. This dancer awakens through the gestures of passersby: cranks set the sculpture turning, unveiling music and light in a one-of-a-kind choreography. Screens built into the structure play a short film telling her story and the mission she carries from city to city. Join with others, and the magic grows: movements sync, music swells, light glows brighter. Live a shared moment where glances meet and smiles pass between strangers.
Quebec companies also attending IDA conference
Program
1:00 p.m.–3:45 p.m.: Come meet the Quebec creators of digital experiences!
IDA Marketplace, The Westin Harbour Castle, Conference Centre, Metropolitan Ballroom East, 2nd Floor, kiosque 27 Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse
Companies participating in the mission will be at the “Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse” booth to meet attendees and present their projects, expertise, and services on this first day of the IDA conference.
9:30 a.m.–6:00 p.m.: Come meet the Quebec creators of digital experiences!
IDA Marketplace, The Westin Harbour Castle, Conference Centre, Metropolitan Ballroom East, 2nd Floor, kiosque 27 Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse
The companies participating in the mission will be all day at the “Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse” booth to meet attendees and present their projects, expertise, and services.
3:45–4:45 p.m.: Panel: Seasonal Placemaking in Action in Montréal
Location: The Westin Harbour Castle, Main Building, Pier 7&8 Room, Convention LevelLieu : The Westin Harbour Castle, Main Building, Pier 7&8 Room, Convention Level
How can cities use the changing seasons as a platform for creativity, public life, and downtown vitality? This panel explores Montréal’s distinctive approach to year-round placemaking, where culture, design, and public space strategies respond to the rhythms of each season. The session will conclude with a presentation of innovative solutions by creative studios Ottomata, Transversal & Gentilhomme.
Moderator:
- Jacquelyn West, Senior Advisor/Public Realm & Project Development, QDS Lab (Montréal, QC)
Speakers:
- Tasha Morizio, Director, Société de Développement du Boulevard St-Laurent (Montréal, QC)
- Soukeina El Isbihani, Development & Touring Manager, Quartier des Spectacles International (Montréal, QC)
6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.: Quebec Reception
Organized by Investissement Québec International, the Délégation Générale du Québec à Houston, and the Bureau du Québec à Toronto.
By invitation only.
9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Come meet the Quebec creators of digital experiences!
IDA Marketplace, The Westin Harbour Castle, Conference Centre, Metropolitan Ballroom East, 2nd Floor, kiosque 27 Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse
The companies participating in the mission will be all morning at the “Montreal’s Year-Round Creative Pulse” booth to meet attendees and present their projects, expertise, and services.
10:00 a.m.–11:30 a.m.: IDA Master Talks
Lieu: The Westin Harbour Castle, Conference Centre, Metropolitan Ballroom, 2nd Floor
The IDA Master Talks feature the industry’s most compelling and innovative speakers. This final plenary session will include a ceremony honoring recipients of the IDA’s Leadership in Place Management (LPM) certificate.
Among the speakers for this session is Monique Simard, Chair of the Boards of Directors of Partenariat du Quartier des spectacles and Quartier des spectacles International.
2:15–3:30 p.m.: Socio-Economic Value of Public Activations for Inclusive Districts
Lieu : The Westin Harbour Castle, bâtiment principal, salle Harbour C, niveau Convention
Interventions in public spaces can have lasting economic and social impacts and help address some of today’s most pressing challenges. The speakers examined six placemaking initiatives around the world, measuring their impact on local economies and people’s lives.
Moderator:
- Leyla Nahas, M.A. in International Relations, Business Development Associate, Daily tous les jours (Montreal, QC)
Speakers:
- Mouna Andraos, M.S. in Interactive Telecommunications, Co-founder, Daily tous les jours (Montreal, QC)
- Joshua Bloom, M.S. in Historic Preservation, Director of Community Strategies, The Lakota Group (Chicago, IL)