Our achievements

Summer 2020-2021

THE ICONIC MANY COLORS COAT

At Dollywood
Pigeon Forge, TN, USA

On the confines of the Great Smoky Mountains, at the Dollywood Theme Park, Mother Parton meticulously makes the iconic “Coat of Many Colors” for her daughter. The monarch butterflies, which flutter lightly over the region, collaborate joyfully by bringing colorful fabrics and threads. In this cheerful atmosphere, mother bear plays tenderly with her cubs, frog and turtles have fun around the pond, just as the ever-curious raccoons rejoice at the sight of this show. And what can be said about the whimsical umbrella!

In addition to the masterpiece depicting Mama Parton, over 4 metres (14 feet) high, Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal created specially for the Dollywood Theme Park, 4 original mosaiculture icons composed of more than twenty amusing works.

Visit the website at Dollywood Theme Park

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2019-2020

IMAGINARY WORLDS II

Atlanta Botanical Garden

Once Upon a Time

Atlanta

The blockbuster is back. Imaginary Worlds returns with all new giant living plant sculptures sure to bring a smile as they take visitors on a fantasy journey throughout the Atlanta Botanical Garden, both at the Midtown and Gainesville locations. These living sculptures – ranging up to 26 feet tall and 21 feet wide – include an enchanting Mermaid, a beautiful Peacock, a trio of gigantic Camels, and much more.

Throughout the exhibition, guests can enjoy the sculptures in a whole new light at night – illuminated on Thursday evenings during Cocktails in the Garden.

Visit the website of Atlanta Botanical Garden

About The Exhibiton

The exhibition, presented in 2019-2020, recaptures the magic of the original blockbuster show from 2013, 2014 and 2018 with larger-than-life, topiary-like whimsical sculptures – only this time they’re even bigger. And most of them have never been seen before.

Imaginary Worlds will wow visitors with a storybook-themed world of sculptures, both indoors and out – most custom made for the Garden by the exhibition’s creators, International Mosaiculture of Montreal®. This time, the sculptures – steel forms covered in soil-and-sphagnum moss and planted with thousands of meticulously groomed plants – will be staged in 14 installations.

This all-new cast of characters joins the Gardens’ permanent sculptures, Earth Goddess, Shaggy Dog and Frogs, which are legacies from the original exhibition.

New Sculpture in the Gardens

At the Midtown garden, look for a giant Phoenix looming over the Alston Overlook, a Mermaid lounging beside Howell Fountain, a massive Dragon and Sleeping Princess near the Great Lawn, a prancing Peacock inside the Fuqua Orchid Center, and three towering Camels lumbering through the Skyline Garden, to name a few.

At the Gainesville garden, the landscape will be adorned with a variety of characters, including a friendly Ogre, Panda and frolicking Frogs.

The Mosaiculture Process

The process for creating the sculptures takes nearly half a year. It began last fall when conceptual drawings for the pieces were developed in Montreal, metal frames were fabricated, and plant palettes were chosen. The empty frames were shipped to Atlanta in January, and the Garden’s horticulturists began covering them with a mesh fabric and stuffing them with soil.

Then the planting commenced – inserting more than 200,000 plants, primarily annuals, one by one. Because Atlanta’s winters are too cold for the annuals to survive, the sculptures were built in sections that were planted inside a greenhouse just outside the city, then trucked to the Garden in spring for assembling on site. Intricate irrigation systems beneath the surface of the sculptures allow the plants to grow – and the creatures to flourish – in Atlanta’s summer heat.

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TWO GRANDIOSES EXHIBITIONS

1.6 million
visitors

8 million
plants of 210 species and varieties

45 majestic floral masterpieces,
composed of more than 125 works

MOSAÏCULTURE GATINEAU 2018

Mosaïculture Gatineau 2018 is an exhibition unique in its kind in the world and one of the most spectacular ever presented. For the first time, a garden on the exhibition site presented and identified all the plants used. The visitors were also invited to attend demonstrations to discover how a Mosaiculture work is made.

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Press Clipping
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MOSAÏCANADA 150, 2017

As part of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations, MosaïCanada invited viewers to experience 150 years of history in five acts.

A TICKET TO CANADA!
Enter through the station, the train is coming! As historian George Stanley wrote in The Canadians, “Bonds of steel as well as of sentiment were needed to hold the new Confederation together. Without railways there would be and could be no Canada.”

A RIDE ACROSS CANADA
Visitors were treated to a voyage of Canadian discovery through this exciting selection of works of mosaiculture from the provinces and territories. Whether representing nature, wildlife, history or culture, the works were a true encapsulation of the Canadian experience: rich, wonderfully unique and stunningly varied!

A TRIP TO CHINA
The cities of Shanghai and Beijing, whose expertise in mosaiculture is world-renowned, wanted to join in the 150th anniversary celebrations of Confederation to mark their friendship with Canada. The two works, focused on the celebration of the feast, wished all Canadians good fortune, happiness and prosperity. Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal has actively partnered with both cities for the past 15 years.

A JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Time goes by, leaving behind events, symbols or characters that mark the collective memory. This pathway through the past drew on various fields: communications, sports, music and war.

A JOURNEY INTO THE IMAGINATION OF THE FIRST NATIONS!
For millennia, the legends of the First Nations have been carried by the wind, trees and song of the rivers. Inhabited by half-animal, half-human entities, these legends denote a magical realm that whispers of the power and majesty of the natural world.

Once Upon a Time

Atlanta

The blockbuster is back. Imaginary Worlds returns with all new giant living plant sculptures sure to bring a smile as they take visitors on a fantasy journey throughout the Atlanta Botanical Garden, both at the Midtown and Gainesville locations. These living sculptures – ranging up to 26 feet tall and 21 feet wide – include an enchanting Mermaid, a beautiful Peacock, a trio of gigantic Camels, and much more.

Throughout the exhibition, guests can enjoy the sculptures in a whole new light at night – illuminated on Thursday evenings during Cocktails in the Garden.

About The Exhibiton

Back by popular demand, the exhibition, presented May 5 – October 28, recaptures the magic of the original blockbuster show from 2013 and 2014 with larger-than-life, topiary-like whimsical sculptures – only this time they’re even bigger. And most of them have never been seen before.

Imaginary Worlds will wow visitors with a storybook-themed world of sculptures, both indoors and out – most custom made for the Garden by the exhibition’s creators, International Mosaiculture of Montreal®. This time, the sculptures – steel forms covered in soil-and-sphagnum moss and planted with thousands of meticulously groomed plants – will be staged in 14 installations.

This all-new cast of characters joins the Gardens’ permanent sculptures, Earth Goddess, Shaggy Dog and Frogs, which are legacies from the original exhibition.

New Sculpture in the Gardens

At the Midtown garden, look for a giant Phoenix looming over the Alston Overlook, a Mermaid lounging beside Howell Fountain, a massive Dragon and Sleeping Princess near the Great Lawn, a prancing Peacock inside the Fuqua Orchid Center, and three towering Camels lumbering through the Skyline Garden, to name a few.

At the Gainesville garden, the landscape will be adorned with a variety of characters, including a friendly Ogre, Panda and frolicking Frogs.

The Mosaiculture Process

The process for creating the sculptures takes nearly half a year. It began last fall when conceptual drawings for the pieces were developed in Montreal, metal frames were fabricated, and plant palettes were chosen. The empty frames were shipped to Atlanta in January, and the Garden’s horticulturists began covering them with a mesh fabric and stuffing them with soil.

Then the planting commenced – inserting more than 200,000 plants, primarily annuals, one by one. Because Atlanta’s winters are too cold for the annuals to survive, the sculptures were built in sections that were planted inside a greenhouse just outside the city, then trucked to the Garden in spring for assembling on site. Intricate irrigation systems beneath the surface of the sculptures allow the plants to grow – and the creatures to flourish – in Atlanta’s summer heat.

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In 2016, the Turkish city of Antalya hosted the largest international horticultural exhibition the world had ever seen. The organizers asked Mosaïcultures internationales de Montréal to take care of the section devoted to mosaiculture: an important mandate that allowed MIM, a global leader in the field, to shine once again on the world stage.
MIM’s participation in the event (which was held as part of Expo 2016 Antalya) confirmed its leadership in addition to showcasing Québec know-how and innovation to millions.

More than 40 countries took part in this international horticultural exhibition, giving the artists on the Montréal team numerous opportunities to expose and share their expertise.

In total, the mandate involved 100 creations built from 600,000 individual plants. All the structures were made in Canada at the Charlemagne workshop, generating about 100 jobs in Québec.

Antalya is one of the most popular tourist destinations on earth. That year, it welcomed over eight million visitors, who were dazzled by the works of mosaiculture they saw.
“We are proud to have been part of an event as prestigious as Expo 2016 Antalya. Knowing that the eyes of the world would be on us motivated us to push our boundaries as never before, drawing on our full expertise to attain new heights in our artworks. The success of this international endeavour was also due to superb support from the exhibition’s staff and organizers and to the combined talents of our own team, who it can be said are truly at the height of their powers,” said Lise Cormier, Executive Vice President and Director General, Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal.

“The Expo 2016 Antalya agency is thrilled that Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal agreed to take on the exhibition’s mosaiculture component — a major attraction of this event that welcomed the world,” added Levent Murat Danışman, Vice Secretary General, Expo 2016 Antalya.”

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A TRIUMPHANT RETURN AFTER TEN YEARS

Back in its home city after a ten-year absence, Mosaïcultures Internationales Montréal 2013 was the fruit of close collaboration between Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal and the Botanical Garden—A Space for Life. Presented under the theme of “Land of Hope,” the one-of-a-kind competition set out to illustrate the beauty and fragility of life on Earth as well as raise awareness about the importance of preserving biodiversity.

2013 MAJOR AWARDS

While the host city cannot take part in the competition, any work it produces is nonetheless eligible for the People’s Choice Award: a prize decided through popular vote as visitors nominate their favourite work before leaving the site.

In 2013 and 2014, the Atlanta Botanical Garden presented the first mosaiculture exhibition ever held on American soil under the theme of “Imaginary Worlds.” After producing all the works in the show, Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal trained the garden’s horticulturists to assume their maintenance as of 2013 as well as help reinstall the works the following year.

The partnership between Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal and the Atlanta Botanical Garden, which began in spring 2013, confirms the global popularity of this refined and complex horticultural technique where bona fide, larger-than-life works of art are created using plants. At Imaginary Worlds, visitors were transported into an enchanting universe of 21 unique mosaicultures that included a unicorn, a friendly ogre, two gigantic cobras, adorable bunnies and frivolous butterflies. The most spectacular work of all was Mother Earth: a goddess springing from the soil to tower 25 feet over the visitors. Producing the works involved a team of over 30 Québec sculptor-welders, gardeners, landscape architects, engineers and graphic designers, working closely with the Atlanta Botanical Garden.

At the opening of Imaginary Worlds, the words of Garden president and CEO Mary Pat Matheson bear eloquent testimony to her appreciation of Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal:

“More than a decade ago, I saw images of colossal sculptures covered with plants pruned with the eye and hand of an artist. The work was captivating, giant animals and imaginary creatures places together in a scene that told a magical story. One of the most eye-catching was a flock of Canada Geese taking flight over the waters of Montreal Bay.

“It was early in my tenure at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, so I was content to fantasize about an exhibition like that in Atlanta, never dreaming that it might be possible. However, we learned in the last decade that the impossible can come to be with a talented team and the generosity of the Garden’s patrons. I am incredibly proud that the Garden has presented two remarkable exhibitions with our friends and colleagues from International Mosaiculture of Montreal. Each living sculpture in Imaginary Worlds – Plants Larger Than Life (2013) and A New Kingdom of Plant Giants (2014) – was crafted to complement the beauty of our gardens and delight our visitors, both the young and the young at heart.

“I hope that each visitor has experienced this exhibition as a marriage of art and horticulture and left with an understanding that plants are essential to our lives, even when displayed as art.”

Mary Pat Matheson
President and CEO
Atlanta Botanical Garden

Theme: The Symphony of Man and Nature
Participants: 97 cities and organizations from 25 countries
Visitors: 865,000 (66 days)

In 2009, Hamamatsu welcomed the international mosaiculture competition under the patronage of His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino. Located midway between Tokyo and Osaka, Hamamatsu is the cradle of Japan’s automotive industry, home to major manufacturers like Suzuki and Honda. It’s also known as the “city of music” due to its long tradition of manufacturing instruments, especially pianos; Yamaha is established here, as are various major music competitions. This musical aspect is what ultimately dictated the theme for Mosaïcultures Internationales Hamamatsu 2009.

From September 19 to November 23, over 865,000 visitors thronged to the site to admire the 91 works inspired by the theme of “The Symphony of Man and Nature.” 97 teams from 25 countries rivalled each other in imagination and expertise to present creations reflecting their culture and integrating art with nature. Mosaïcultures Internationales Hamamatsu also involved 1,200 volunteers who donated 5,800 person-days to the event.

2009 MAJOR AWARDS

The Man who Planted Trees, a work produced by Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal and designed in collaboration with renowned Canadian animator Frédéric Back, took both the International Jury Grand Honorary Award and the People’s Choice Award.

While the host city cannot take part in the competition, any work it produces is nonetheless eligible for the People’s Choice Award, which is decided through popular vote as visitors nominate their favourite work before leaving the site.

Theme: The Earth: Our Village
Participants: 55 cities and organizations from 15 countries
Visitors: More than 1,000,000 (76 days)

The 2006 version of Mosaïcultures Internationales was held in Shanghai, the “head of the dragon” as it’s known in China. Shanghai took up the torch from Montréal, its twin city, to dazzle close to one million visitors.

From September 15 to November 30, 2006, visitors admired over 80 works, each larger and more spectacular than the last, under the theme of “The Earth: Our Village.” 82 teams from 15 countries rivalled each other in imagination and expertise to present works reflecting their culture, based on the three sub-themes below:

• Tell me of your city’s architecture!
• Tell me of the wildlife in your region!
• Tell me of your city’s arts!

With its top-notch hosting facilities and outstanding natural features, 75-acre Century Park site couldn’t have been a better choice for the event. The works studded an enchanting visitor circuit lasting two to three hours.

AWARD WINNERS OF 2006

While the host city cannot take part in the competition, any work it produces is nonetheless eligible for the People’s Choice Award, which is decided through popular vote as visitors nominate their favourite work before leaving the site.

Due to the large number of participating Chinese cities, the competition was divided into three sections: international, national and local (Shanghai). It should be noted that the three Chinese cities ranking first in the national component automatically entered the international component.

INTERNATIONAL AWARDS – GRAND HONORARY AWARD

Tie vote
Montréal, on Stage! Montreal and Québec, Canada

The Flood-Guarding Turtle at Taihu Lake, Wuxi, Chine

Theme: Myths and Legends of the World
Participants: 51 cities and organizations from 32 countries
Visitors: 755,000 (110 days)

The second international mosaiculture competition was held in Montréal from June 20 to October 14, 2003 under the theme “Myths and Legends of the World.” Over 51 cities and organizations from 32 countries submitted works that were admired by more than 755,000 visitors during the exhibition’s 110-day run.

THE CITY OF TALES AND LEGENDS

As they left the downtown financial district, visitors went south on McGill Street to the Parc des Éclusiers in the Old Port of Montréal. At the main entrance to MIM2003 was the City of a Hundred Steeples, a dream version of Montréal imaginatively rendered in mosaiculture.

From the steeples to the Legend of the Chasse-galerie, the exhibition presented a magical alter ego of the real city that formed its backdrop. Visitors strolled through a world of myth and mystery to encounter the marvellous, the fabulous and the fantastic on a flowery path of dreams.

The MIM2003 site was thus envisioned as an otherworldly journey through the “Myths and Legends of the World,” the event’s theme. Taking their lead from Mosaïcultures Internationales Montréal 2000, the organizers ensured that each work pointed up and complemented the surrounding pieces.

TWO COMPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES INCORPORATED INTO THE 2003 COMPETITION

Inter-borough competition: This activity extended across the City of Montréal. Each of the municipality’s 17 boroughs was invited to present a work in their respective territory.

Contest in schools on the Island of Montréal: This activity aimed to raise students’ awareness of the environment and the importance of the planet’s cultural diversity. The contest first invited the children to draw a myth or legend. Selected drawings were then transformed into two-dimensional mosaiculture works by the students, aided by specialists from Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal. The resulting works were exhibited at Place du Québec on the MIM2003 site. The winners were La Voie Primaire elementary school for its work Et si la terre avait été créée par les quatre éléments and Honoré-Mercier secondary school for La chasse-galerie.

AWARD WINNERS OF 2003

While the host city cannot take part in the competition, any work it produces is nonetheless eligible for the People’s Choice Award, which is decided through popular vote as visitors nominate their favourite work before leaving the site.

Grand Honorary Award (3D)
The Legend of the Multicoloured Stones, Shanghai, Chine

In early 2002, the Niagara Parks Commission asked Mosaïcultures Internationales de Montréal to provide some 30 works for an exhibition scheduled for that summer. Held in the park next to the famous falls, the exhibition (whose highlights are pictured here) was enthusiastically received by the many visitors who came to see it.

The first Mosaïcultures Internationales®, held in Montreal in 2000 under the theme “The Planet is a Mosaic,” was a runaway success. While it was clear that its 730,000 visitors had loved the experience in the Old Port of Montréal, a great many others missed the opportunity to visit the site. Strong public opinion called for a second edition; the organizers accordingly took up the challenge.

However, the 2001 edition was unable to take place under the International Mosaiculture Committee, whose rule it was to repeat the event only every three years in different cities around the world.

The follow-up to the 2000 event was therefore “The Magician’s Garden.” This time, the organizers set the bar even higher in terms of daring, virtuosity and technical invention. With such a vision, Montreal took another step toward becoming the world capital of mosaiculture.

For the 2001 exhibition, major Canadian capitals were invited to participate along with First Nations. The Old Port of Montréal becomes the Magician’s Garden, an enchanted world where visitors entered a wondrous world of dreams.

During the 108-day exhibition, more than 530,000 visitors ambled through the dreamscape. Mallards and giant ravens took flight; a Thai Buddhist temple betokened sacred quests; a gigantic wave was the bearer of hope. There was also the imposing Inukshuk, vigilant guardian of the Arctic tundra, guiding the Inuit hunter.

World premiere

Theme: The Planet is a Mosaic
Participants: 35 cities and organizations from 14 countries
Visitors: 730,000 (110 days)

The very first edition of Mosaïcultures Internationales (MIM2000) took place in Montréal in the summer of 2000 under the theme, “The Planet is a Mosaic.” Over 30 cities and organizations from 14 countries created the hundred or so works of floral art that were admired by close to 730,000 visitors during the exhibition’s 110-day run.

GRAND PRIX DU TOURISME DU QUÉBEC

Initiated by the City of Montréal’s parks and gardens department, this first event was staged at the Parc des Écluses in the Old Port of Montréal.

An unprecedented success that surpassed all expectations, it garnered the Québec government’s Grand Prix du Tourisme Gold award for the year 2000.

As a concept, MIM2000’s strength lay not just in how well the theme was expressed through the works, but also in how it integrated with the layout. The works were presented with a view to creating an overall effect and positioned to complement each other.

The overall design was informed by the site’s purpose: a port is a place of exchange as well as the entry and exit point for the world’s best and most important. This reality and the images it conjures, highly appropriate to the history of the Old Port of Montréal, formed the symbolic backdrop for the theme “The Planet is a Mosaic.”

The design also nodded to the transience that characterizes life today. Far from wanting to change the layout of a site already complete as it was, the organizers of MIM2000 sought rather to impose an ephemeral reality — a “port of the imagination,” a port for the year 2000.

In this singular setting, the works were laid out and displayed to their best advantage, symbolizing the planet’s incredible cultural wealth as they injected the port with a rare vitality.

AWARD WINNER OF 2000

While the host city cannot take part in the competition, any work it produces is nonetheless eligible for the People’s Choice Award: a prize decided through popular vote as visitors nominate their favourite work before leaving the site.

Grand Honorary Award (2D and 3D)

Two Dragons Playing With a Pearl, Shanghai, Chine