About the Empress:

Built in 1927, the Empress Theatre, which later became Cinema V, for many years formed the cultural backbone of NDG and western Montreal. Holding a 60-year lease from the City of Montreal, our organization, the Empress Cultural Centre inc., is mandated to return the landmark building to full community use as a cultural and performing arts centre. With a 352-seat theatre, a 246-seat concert hall and a mezzanine level art gallery, as well as office, studio and teaching space throughout, the Empress will revitalize the cultural and economic life of NDG.

Our committee has a plan for the renovation of the building in three stages as follows:

Stage One: to restore and re-open a large room at the northeast corner of the building, formerly housing the Sesame Health Food Store, to be used as the head office for the project and for other cultural organizations, and also as a small informal performance space, suitable for community and cultural events.

Stage Two: to secure the building through essential structural repairs, to renovate the office tower, and to carry out renovations enabling the downstairs theatre space to be used in a 'rough' format by local groups. There is an enormous pent-up demand in NDG for the use of this kind of space. Renting this space to community groups would provide income for the larger project as well as starting to allow the public back into the building.

Stage Three: to complete the renovation of the downstairs theatre into a finished 354 seat hall, with a café/art gallery area adjacent to it, and in partnership with the McGill University Conservatory of Music, to create a concert hall/theatre seating 246 people, by renovating the upstairs theatre space and mezzanine area. This would involve a full-scale capital campaign.

During the past year we succeeded in completing Stage One. After launching our 'Open Sesame' Campaign this past year, we received a wonderful gift from Mr. Domenico D'Alesio, a leader in the Italian community and long-time resident of NDG, who undertook the renovation of the space at a cost to himself, and his company, D&G Construction. 'Sesame' was opened on June 15th, 2005. Our group is now based there and has begun to hold small community and cultural events in the space. We share the premises with the local merchants' association and with the Montreal Chamber Music Festival.

Community support is strong

To get a handle on public perceptions of the project, both the Empress Cultural Centre and the McGill Conservatory of Music, a potential partner in the project, recently undertook surveys of local residents, gaining a better understanding of their desires and needs. Both studies included a sample size of more than 200. According to the Empress Study, undertaken by Convercité, 91.8% of respondents said that Cinema V / Empress Cultural Centre is important or very important for the neighbourhood. Also, when asked what service is most lacking in NDG, the greatest number of respondents (38.2%) said that a cultural centre was most needed. The McGill Conservatory of Music study, conducted by a McGill MBA team, included general surveys, interviews with local merchants and a focus group. Asked about a location preference for cultural performances, 72% chose the Empress. These figures only go to confirm the strong local support for our efforts to return the Empress to full community use.

Empress and McGill Conservatory of Music
sign partnership agreement

For two years now, the Empress and the McGill Faculty of Music have been in negotiations to make the McGill Conservatory Program, which teaches music to children and adults in the community, a partner at the Empress. This partnership will bring an enriching educational component to the centre. To enhance our efforts in working together at this critical stage of project development, the Empress and the Conservatory signed an agreement in principle outlining joint actions to be taken. Together we undertook a class 'C' estimate of building costs associated with the long-term project, and are now working to merge our business plans for the eventual operation of the Centre.

Our Board of Directors:

President: Peter McAuslan
Treasurer: Necdet Kendir
Secretary: Clarence Bayne
Members: Teresa Kaeser
Elsa Bolam
Clément Joubert
Tyrone Benskin
Jodi Michaels
Arnold Bennett

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Project Coordinator: Christiane Loiselle

Graphics & Photography: Murat Ariburnu
Technical Support: Robert J Dunn