Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines

What Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines does

Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines is a nonprofit cultural organization headquartered in Old Quebec City that manages the museum, archives, and heritage collections of the Ursulines of the Canadian Union — a religious community established in New France in 1639. The organization operates a museum with permanent exhibitions (including the new 'Grandir chez les Ursulines' opened April 30, 2025 with 580+ objects and 'The Young Ladies Academy' with approximately 300 objects), the historic Ursuline Chapel (erected 1722, housing Pierre-Noël Levasseur's New France-era wood carvings from 1726–1736), and a 30,000-piece archival collection distributed across five repositories in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Rimouski. The institution generates revenue through museum admissions ($17 adult), separate chapel admissions ($8 adult), educational programs for schools ($6/student for 60-minute tours), the Les Ondes concert series featuring classical and baroque music ($45 general admission), group bookings for 15+ participants, on-site boutique-librairie retail, and paid archival reproduction services, supplemented by ongoing subsidy from Quebec's Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and targeted Government of Canada funding under the Programme d'aide aux musées.

The technology platform consists of a WordPress website with WPML multilingual support and Visual Composer, a dedicated online ticketing site (billetterie.polecultureldesursulines.ca), a 3D virtual monastery experience (monastere3d.com), an online virtual gallery with categorized historical content, and a 360-degree 'Echoes From the Heart' audio tour of the chapel. Marketing channels are concentrated on the official website, Facebook, an email newsletter, and press distribution via PR agencies Agence Théo and Strategies-B, with no third-party resellers.

The organization serves a diversified customer base including general public visitors and cultural tourists to Old Quebec, educational institutions from preschool through cégep, researchers and genealogists accessing the archives, classical music patrons, and group organizers. It holds a National Historic Site of Canada designation (1972), heritage building status (1964), and was the first religious-community museum accredited by Quebec's Ministry of Cultural Affairs (1979), operating today with a 16-person team led by Executive Director Alex Tremblay Lamarche and a Board of Trustees chaired by President Anne-Marie Boissonneault.

Name

Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines

Legal name

Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines

Website

https://polecultureldesursulines.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines is a Quebec City nonprofit that operates a museum, historic chapel, and 30,000-piece archive preserving the 1639 heritage of the Ursulines of the Canadian Union, serving tourists, school groups, researchers, and concertgoers through admissions, educational programs, concerts, and government-subsidized cultural programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Museum

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Historical Sites (712120), Museums (712110), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Libraries, Archives & Special Collections (BPAGAHAF), Archives, Special Collections & Preservation Operations (Rare Materials, Conservation) (EDAEAGAJ), Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC), Religious & Sacred Sites Tours (THAJAAAF)

Keywords

• Heritage museum services
• Cultural archive management
• Historical site preservation
• Educational heritage programs
• Classical concert programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Québec

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Entry fees to the museum and its permanent and temporary exhibitions, including the new permanent exhibition 'Growing Up with the Ursulines' and the Young Ladies Academy exhibition.
2. Chapel Admission: Separate ticketed access to the Ursuline Chapel including the 'Echoes from the Heart' immersive audio experience.
3. Concert Series (Les Ondes): Concert programming including classical music performances such as Bach's English Suites, Handel cantatas, and Baroque music. Pricing at $45 general admission, $10 students.
4. Educational Programs: School group tours, interactive tours, and workshops for educational institutions at $6 per student for 60-minute tours.
5. Boutique-Librairie: On-site gift shop and bookstore selling local products including 'savon du pays' and museum-related merchandise.
6. Archives Services: Fees charged for reproduction of archival documents and licensing for documents under copyright. Regular processing (7-10 business days, no fees) or priority treatment (2 business days, fees apply).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines is a nonprofit cultural center in Old Quebec that operates a museum, the historic Ursuline Chapel, and a heritage archive (approximately 30,000 pieces since 1639). It sells paid admissions to exhibitions and the Chapel's immersive audio tour, delivers educational programs for schools, stages the Les Ondes concert series, sells merchandise at an on-site boutique-librairie, and provides fee-based archival research and reproduction services. Supporting offerings include group tours, virtual experiences (3D monastery and online gallery), and cultural mediation.

Product overview

Poles culturel du Monastere des Ursulines is a nonprofit cultural organization managing a museum, heritage site, and archives. The institution operates as a unified cultural center offering physical exhibitions (permanent exhibitions like Grandir chez les Ursulines and Recollections of a House, plus rotating exhibitions), heritage experiences (the Ursuline Chapel with its 1722 origins), educational programs for schools (interactive tours and workshops), and digital services (virtual gallery and 3D monastery tours). Supporting services include concert programming (Les Ondes series), archives and research access, group tours, and an on-site boutique. The organization preserves and showcases the cultural, artistic, archival, religious, and educational legacy of the Ursulines of the Canadian Union since their arrival in New France in 1639.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grandir chez les Ursulines (Growing up at the Ursulines) Permanent Exhibition Permanent museum exhibition opened April 30, 2025 with over 580 collection objects and archival documents across six rooms, telling the story of the Ursulines' educational and humanitarian work over nearly 400 years. Intended for general public visitors, school groups, researchers, and tourists.
• Recollections of a House (Mémoire d'une maison) Exhibition Permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the 12 rue Donnacona building erected in the 19th century on the remains of Madame de La Peltrie's house, featuring artifacts from archaeological excavations and architectural scale models.
• Mosaic Tribute (Mosaïque hommage) Permanent mosaic installation paying tribute to approximately sixty former students of the Ursulines with remarkable career paths in education, literature, health, law, and the arts.
• Ursuline Chapel Visit with Echoes from the Heart Audio Tour Ticketed admission to the historic Ursuline Chapel (1722, rebuilt 1902) housing carved-wood decor by Pierre-Noël Levasseur (1726-1736) and over 15 paintings, including the Marie of the Incarnation Oratory and the 360-degree 'Echoes from the Heart' immersive audio experience.
• Archives and Collections Research Services Heritage archive research and document reproduction services for scholars, genealogists, and researchers. Approximately 30,000 pieces dating from 1639, housed across five archival repositories in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, and Rimouski, including institutional and private collections covering textual, graphic, cartographic, audio, film, and architectural documents.
• Educational Programs School programs including interactive tours ('Living at School', 'In the Ursuline Lab', 'The Angels in Our Chapels'), workshops (Drawing, 1-2-3 Let's Move calisthenics, Embroidery), and package deals for elementary, secondary, and post-secondary groups, aligned with the Quebec curriculum.
• Virtual Experiences (Monastère 3D and Online Gallery) Digital services including the 3D Monastery virtual tour, Regards sur les Ursulines, Window Open virtual mediation, virtual concert experience, and the online Virtual Gallery with categories covering Education, Daily Life, Fine Arts, Music, Events, Relations and Communications, Faith and Spirituality, and Leisure Activities.
• Les Ondes Concert Series Concert series featuring classical and baroque music performances including J.S. Bach's English Suites, Il Delirio Amoroso (Handel), and the Giovanni Legrenzi 400th Anniversary concert, with general admission ($45), student tickets ($10), and season subscriptions available.
• Boutique-Librairie (Gift Shop and Bookstore) On-site gift shop and bookstore offering local products and museum-related merchandise including 'savon du pays' and cultural items.
• Group Tours (15+ Participants) Personalized guided tours for groups of 15 or more people, including the Classical Tour of The Young Ladies Academy permanent exhibition with approximately 300 objects on display, plus customizable group options booked through the dedicated reservation system.
• The Young Ladies Academy (L'Académie des demoiselles) Exhibition Exhibition exploring the 19th-century Ursuline boarding school in Quebec City, a bilingual interfaith educational establishment and its pedagogical revolution, displayed in the museum's exhibition halls with approximately 300 objects.

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Le Musée de la civilisationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 'We Grow Up by Playing' exhibition, providing generous collaboration alongside other institutions including L'École des Ursulines and Le Musée des Ursulines de Trois-Rivières.
• Le Musée des Ursulines de Trois-RivièresminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the 'We Grow Up by Playing' exhibition, sharing expertise and collections related to toys and games from the Ursuline educational tradition.
• Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (Library and Archives Canada)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding from the Documentary Heritage Communities Program enabled digitization of Quebec Monastery archival microfilms dating from 1641 to 1973.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Musée de la civilisation: Québec City's flagship large-scale museum offering thematic exhibitions on Quebec society and history. Already identified as a collaboration partner; competes for the same Old Quebec tourist visitor and school-group budget, but at significantly larger scale and broader subject matter.
• Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec (MNBAQ): Quebec's provincial art museum operating in the same Quebec City cultural ecosystem. Competes for the same tourist visitor and cultural-tourism audience while running permanent and temporary exhibitions at much larger scale.
• Canadian Museum of History: National museum in Gatineau covering Canadian history with permanent galleries, special exhibitions, and school programming. Overlaps on Canadian-heritage education programming but operates at much larger scale and with federal funding.

Direct peers

• Château Ramezay Museum: Historic-house museum in Old Montreal preserving New France heritage with guided tours, educational programs, and similar admission-based model. Highly comparable as a small heritage house museum operating with government support in Quebec.
• Morrin Centre: Heritage cultural center in Old Quebec housed in a historic building (former prison), offering guided tours, cultural events, and educational programming in a comparable Old Quebec visitor market.
• Huron-Wendat Museum (Musée Huron-Wendat): First Nations heritage museum near Quebec City offering guided tours, exhibitions, and cultural performances in a heritage setting. Competes for the same Old Quebec / Wendake cultural-tourism visitor with a comparable small-team operating model.
• Musée des Ursulines de Trois-Rivières: Another Ursuline religious-heritage museum in Quebec operating out of a historic convent complex with comparable collection and exhibition mission. Already an explicit collaboration partner, making it the closest peer by subject matter and operating model.
• McCord Museum: Montreal-based Canadian heritage museum with social history collections, educational programming, and a similar museum-admission-plus-shop revenue model. Comparable operating model even though geography differs.

Regional players

• Old Ursuline Convent Museum (New Orleans): Ursuline religious-heritage museum in New Orleans preserving artifacts from the same religious order. Most comparable peer by institutional identity and subject matter, though geographically separated and operating in a different tourism market.
• Citadelle of Québec: Historic military fortification in Old Quebec offering guided tours and interpretive programming in a National Historic Site setting. Competes for Old Quebec heritage-tourism foot traffic with overlapping French-colonial history narrative.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/polecultureldesursulines
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/p%C3%B4le-culturel-du-monast%C3%A8re-des-ursulines

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines