Murals on "The Main"
Last weekend, a stretch of St. Laurent closed to vehicles for the Festival of Murals, one of Montréal's newer summer events. This is the second year of a festival whose purpose is "to celebrate creativity and democratize urban art".
Theatre perfomances, live music and a street-fair atmosphere (mercifully free of big brand hype) drew young families, students and tourists, who viewed the multi-story murals and installations, many still in progress on Sunday, thanks to rain earlier. The murals will remain in place over the next year.
An Escher-like effect by RR&DB:
The murals were of the fantastic, visionary and surreal school; below, a fantasy figure by Inti of Chile holds a beaker in a clawed hand:
A mural by Alex Scaner of Canada:
Visitors picked up chalk to make their own marks:
While local restaurants dished up paella, vegan burritos and sausages, cheek by jowl:
People watching in the sunshine! An eye-catching ensemble and hairstyle on an older woman:
And a rockabilly girl and guy in front of a vintage store:
Nice installation, boys—but is it art?
A girl, balletic in her tee and white kitchen wear, with the pre-existing graffiti of a lane:
At home, someone has grafitti'd a poem directly across from our balcony:
(I will be there where you will not be/we will be in the space between us/we will be miserable.)
We, however, felt far from miserable, after a dinner of the astonishingly delicious arepas at Bocadillo, the Venezuelan bakery restaurant.
And for a heartening story of the positive outcomes of public art, see more about MU (Mural Urbain)'s work with Montréal neighbourhoods in this Toronto Star article.
Theatre perfomances, live music and a street-fair atmosphere (mercifully free of big brand hype) drew young families, students and tourists, who viewed the multi-story murals and installations, many still in progress on Sunday, thanks to rain earlier. The murals will remain in place over the next year.
An Escher-like effect by RR&DB:
The murals were of the fantastic, visionary and surreal school; below, a fantasy figure by Inti of Chile holds a beaker in a clawed hand:
A mural by Alex Scaner of Canada:
Visitors picked up chalk to make their own marks:
While local restaurants dished up paella, vegan burritos and sausages, cheek by jowl:
People watching in the sunshine! An eye-catching ensemble and hairstyle on an older woman:
And a rockabilly girl and guy in front of a vintage store:
Nice installation, boys—but is it art?
A girl, balletic in her tee and white kitchen wear, with the pre-existing graffiti of a lane:
At home, someone has grafitti'd a poem directly across from our balcony:
(I will be there where you will not be/we will be in the space between us/we will be miserable.)
We, however, felt far from miserable, after a dinner of the astonishingly delicious arepas at Bocadillo, the Venezuelan bakery restaurant.
And for a heartening story of the positive outcomes of public art, see more about MU (Mural Urbain)'s work with Montréal neighbourhoods in this Toronto Star article.
Comments
Yes, the weather has finally turned nice and there are fresh local fruits and vegetables, and people in summery clothes.
Mme and pseu: The Star article to which I linked says the inspiration for the mural project came from Philadelphia- art as community-building.
lagatta: They'll be around, but the festival made it especially fun to see.
hostess: Different planet from your city and- in the same country.
Cornelia: Generally regarded as the most European city in North America. (Quebec City is more unilingual French-speaking but much smaller.)
LPC: There are more artists per apita here than in any other city in our country, so there is always a great deal to see, in both visual and performing arts.
fox: Perhaps time for a reunion with your ancestral roots?
Mme and pseu: The Star article to which I linked says the inspiration for the mural project came from Philadelphia- art as community-building.
lagatta: They'll be around, but the festival made it especially fun to see.
hostess: Different planet from your city and- in the same country.
Cornelia: Generally regarded as the most European city in North America. (Quebec City is more unilingual French-speaking but much smaller.)
LPC: There are more artists per apita here than in any other city in our country, so there is always a great deal to see, in both visual and performing arts.
fox: Perhaps time for a reunion with your ancestral roots?
Mme and pseu: The Star article to which I linked says the inspiration for the mural project came from Philadelphia- art as community-building.
lagatta: They'll be around, but the festival made it especially fun to see.
hostess: Different planet from your city and- in the same country.
Cornelia: Generally regarded as the most European city in North America. (Quebec City is more unilingual French-speaking but much smaller.)
LPC: There are more artists per apita here than in any other city in our country, so there is always a great deal to see, in both visual and performing arts.
fox: Perhaps time for a reunion with your ancestral roots?