Jean-Marc Vallée : Mixtape
Exhibition ➜ 2025
CENTRE PHI, MONTRÉAL · LE DIAMANT, QUÉBEC CITY · CURRENTLY TOURING IN FRANCE AND QUÉBEC, CANADA
Exhibition Credits
Concept, Curation, Creative Direction & Exhibit Design: Sylvain Dumais
Executive Creative Direction & Co-conception: Phoebe Greenberg
Scenography: Daniel Demay
Sound Integration & Supervision: Philippe Rochefort
Interview Producer & Content Research: Ariane Cipriani
Executive Production: Émilie Heckmann
Production & Distribution: Centre PHI
Jean-Marc Vallée was a filmmaker who thought in music. Before a word of script, before a frame was shot, there was a mixtape.
Mixtape is a sound and multimedia exhibition that enters his creative universe through that same door: music first. Drawing on intimate testimonies from those who knew and worked with him most closely—Denis Villeneuve, Reese Witherspoon, Vanessa Paradis, Laura Dern, Marc-André Grondin, Evelyne Brochu, Matthew McConaughey, Michael Kiwanuka, Alexandra Stréliski, Yves Bélanger and others—the exhibition doesn't aim to summarize a career. It aims to put visitors inside a mind.
Composed of four installations and an enveloping sound environment, the exhibition moves through key moments and themes in Vallée's work and life—always returning to music as the common thread. Non-linear and deeply personal, it rewards curiosity and slowness.
Installation view: The Mixtapes
The Mixtapes — Interactive Sound Installation
At the heart of the exhibition, this interactive installation places visitors before a four-track mixer—inviting them to compose their own listening experience.
Each track unlocks a different thematic thread: testimonies, musical choices, film memories, and personal anecdotes from Vallée's closest collaborators and friends. Visitors choose which voice to follow, which theme to explore, how deep to go. Like a mixtape itself, the experience is non-linear and different for every listener. A standalone version of the installation is currently touring independently.
Direction & Conception: Sylvain Dumais
Sound Editor: Natalie Fleurant
Prelude—Video Installation
Multimedia Direction: Sylvain Dumais & Phoebe Greenberg
Editing: Guillaume Marin
The Voices—Sound Installation
Multimedia Direction: Sylvain Dumais
Direction & Editing: Jenny Cartwright
