Musée de la civilisation and SAGA Sound strategy

The customer

The Musée de la civilisation du Québec contextualizes certain moments and movements in our society. The museum’s aim is to captivate and inform the public about the issues that shape our culture. Exhibitions present concepts that justify our ways of life, while highlighting key figures in Quebec’s history.

The exhibition Sur parole. The Sound of Quebec Rap showcases artists from Quebec’s hip-hop movement, highlighting its cultural diversity and unique flavor, and celebrating the music in an immersive sound experience.

Musée de la civilisation, photographer: François Ozan

Project summary

This funding project enabled the Musée de la civilisation du Québec to mount an exhibition with a never-before-seen augmented sound experience at its heart.

This exhibition draws attention to the diversity of Quebec’s cultural landscape, while promoting a little-known musical genre. Immersion is at the heart of the concept, so that spectators can experience the scope and richness of the hip hop movement through the years.

The challenge

The challenges are social and technological. The hip hop community is vast. Demonstrating all its facets exposed the complexity of intersectionality and the representation of under-represented groups (women, aboriginals, French-speaking Afrodescendants, etc.). All in all, it was an enriching experience that is part of the exhibition’s DNA in its commitment to showcasing Quebec hip hop artists.

The technological aspect is complex, given its innovative and never-before-seen setup. Setting up the sound trail required a great deal of thought, a multi-factor approach and a tight deadline.

The solution

The hip-hop community’s struggle to make its mark is part of the exhibition’s identity. It was essential to give great importance to the individuality of the active members of this musical movement, and to offer visitors a personalized tour. After all, we all experience music differently, and it was important to represent this aspect in the exhibition.

Technologically, this was evident in the many collaborations and montages that gave a unique, personal and exceptional flavor to this visit.

The service provider

SAGA Sound Strategy creates immersive and engaging auditory experiences through a process combining sound science and presentation creativity.

The music is enhanced by orchestrated experiences that tell a story in an augmented way.

Results and findings

The quantity and variety of audio content, much of it created by members of the hip-hop community especially for our project, and the way it is deployed in the space, make this visit unique and exceptional.

The project is ongoing, but the response to the exhibition has been very positive.

Our preliminary assessment confirms a rating of 4.2 out of 5.