Montreal from A to Z:
P is for Phi Centre, a beacon of all that is cutting-edge and new.
You’ve got to love a highbrow multimedia art centre that decorates an exhibition and pop-up shop with giant blow-up walruses, elephants and bubble gum-pink beach balls.
Welcome to the Phi Centre, a beacon of all that is cutting-edge and new in the heart of Old Montreal. It celebrates and produces all kinds of art, from fashion and cinema to digital arts.
And it is a lively hub, drawing stylish and hip Montrealers, along with tourists, to traditional exhibitions, DJ parties, musical performances, film screenings and this summer, until July 19, the pop-up shop, called Ephermeralphi.
On St-Pierre St., the Phi is in a part of the historic old city that is itself undergoing an exciting renewal, in shops, restaurants, services and lifestyle.
“I actually saw a school bus drive down the street, which I’d never seen before,’’ said Phoebe Greenberg, the real-estate heiress who founded the Phi Centre. She said that part of Old Montreal was a ghost town when she first moved to the area 15 years ago.
In her esoteric way, Greenberg thinks and talks a lot about culture, art, dialogue and the future.
“I often reflect upon how people consume culture in this environment, and looking to the future, I felt that I was interested in what digital platforms could provide,’’ she said.
“I also felt I wanted to put it or encase it in a building where there was dialogue with a live public and also where we could produce content in an effective manner.’’
As one example, Greenberg cites the filming by Guy Maddin of Seances, shot in front of a live audience, so the piece is an installation, a virtual experience, and finally, a film.
The Phi building, which dates to 1861, once housed Holland Glass & Crystal importers, then was used for film production. It was a virtual wreck by the time Greenberg decided to transform it into a stateof-the art green building — with an “enormous” number of engineers and architects at a sum she won’t disclose. Opened in May 2012, the Phi was four years from conception to completion by architectural firm Atelier in situ with some work by Shapiro Wolfe.
The transformation of the building is remarkable: sleek, modern, air-conditioned studios and galleries seamlessly integrated with the historic stones and bones of the building, which is pursuing platinum level LEED certification. The galleries are served with state-ofthe-art wiring for production, plus facilities for editing, recording, sound isolation and a green room.
There is a spectacular rooftop terrace, of oak and grass, affording gorgeous views of Old Montreal and the river.
“I felt it was important to make an ecological statement because I believe what we’ve built here will service the next generation,’’ Greenberg said.
“Being responsible, as far as the planet is concerned, is a vision toward the future.”
Greenberg’s first project in the area was the DHC/ART Foundation, opened in 2007.
Last May, the Phi launched a series of guest curatorships, featuring artists from various disciplines. Painter-fashion designer Renata Morales, a friend and protegé of Greenberg, was first up. Rad Hourani, the haute couturier and photographer, also mounted a show. Others to take their turns will include filmmakers Denis Villeneuve and Xavier Dolan, and Vice journalist Suroosh Alvi.
On incorporating fashion into the programming, Greenberg says it’s about exploring the designer’s universe.
“Our programming is quite diverse, but it needs to have a Phi feeling so that there’s an evolution in the sense that it’s not just about trends.”
Morales noted she is working in a more free-form way in fashion, collaborating with artists. She also said she had a large part in curating the pop-up shop, which stocks tops and scarves printed with her distinctly Mexican-inspired illustrations, as well as local brands Travis Taddeo, a neighbour in Old Montreal, and Sabrina Barilà’s La Montréalaise Atelier sweats and Ts.
Upstairs, in a more traditional gallery setting, there are screens displaying scenes from the finale of C2MTL, as well as pieces by Morales, Sophie Calle, Joe Becker and Takashi Murakami, dark art in many cases — and offset with a giant plastic walrus and pink beach ball.