Tag: urban art

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MURAL Festival became an “Estival” during COVID-19

Even in the midst of a pandemic, art prevails

Montreal’s MURAL Festival was founded in 2012, beginning as “a love letter from Montreal to the world” with a goal to democratize street art. It is known for its celebration of the arts, with renowned artists from all around the world contributing and showcasing their live art, music, and exhibitions.

“We are the meeting place of creative minds and we represent the festive and innovating soul of a booming artistic scene,” its website states.

Whether you’re a tourist or a Montreal native, this annual 11-day event is an excellent way for people to discover great art and artists. During a normal summer, these festivities would consist of huge crowds attending music shows, talks, performance art and more. However, this isn’t a normal summer, and the MURAL Festival adapted accordingly.

Although the usual festival was cancelled, the Estival, derived from the French word for summertime, was created in its place. The MURAL Festival believed that even with this past summer’s conditions, it was important that people still had the freedom to express themselves and for others to take time to relax and appreciate the art. Only this time, safe distances were mandatory.

So, instead of an 11-day festival, the Estival would take place during the three months of summer, without gatherings of any kind. There would still be physical street work going on, but many of the music performances and conferences were streamed online so that citizens could watch their shows safely. Guided tours of the artworks were available as well.

Towards the end of August, I picked up my camera and explored the streets of downtown Montreal in search of large, beautiful murals. As a Video Editor for The Concordian, I decided to check out murals from MURAL Festivals of years’ past to make a video, but I also went to satisfy my own curiosity. I started on St-Laurent Boulevard .

Most of the art I encountered was in great shape; they were huge, bright, and beautiful. Some artworks, like Daniel Joseph Bombardier’s Denial, just off of Prince Arthur Street, had powerful messages embedded in them. Other artworks, likely because of their age, were damaged or covered up with graffiti in some way. Zilon, which was named after the artist, created in 2014 and located at the corner of St-Dominique Street and Marie-Anne Street, was covered in white and black spray paint, leaving only small parts of the image visible.

One thing I realized while documenting all of these pieces of art was the importance of street art. The MURAL Festival itself is a celebration of art in all its forms, but the murals that remained served as a subtle reminder to appreciate the art that we’re surrounded by. Street art is a way for people to enjoy cities and neighbourhoods, whether foreign or local to them, and, especially now, admire artwork safely outside.

Murals fill city streets with colour and life, and as someone who hasn’t lived in Montreal for long, murals help me see the beauty in the ordinary; a normal walk to work can turn into a walk through culture and art. Even amid a pandemic, the MURAL Festival was able to maintain its yearly tradition and add more art to the city. So, even though the Estival is over, and past Festivals are long gone, their stamps on the city remain, and it makes the world a slightly brighter place.

 

Photos by Christine Beaudoin

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Arts

What Montreal can learn from art and architecture abroad

Reflecting on the place urban spaces hold within a community

I did not expect art to be the main takeaway from my trip to Singapore and Malaysia this reading week. It’s not that I thought that I wouldn’t see any art, but rather I didn’t think it would be much different from the art in Montreal. I was wrong.

Upon meeting me at Changi airport after my 23-hour flight, my friend immediately dragged me, luggage in tow, to Singapore’s Chinatown for lunch. We exited the metro and a couple of minutes into our walk, stumbled upon Mid-Autumn Festival by Yip Yew Chong. Composed of vibrant reds, oranges and blues, the mural depicts a family feasting on fruits and cakes as lanterns shine above them and children play in the near distance. I was so mesmerized by the colours and overall narrative that I made sure to return after we had eaten, just to be sure I had taken it all in.

In Singapore’s Little India, Cattleland 2 by Eunice Lim comes to life via augmented reality. By scanning a nearby QR code on their phone, the viewer is invited to watch as the cattle roam through the colourful streets of Buffalo Rd. In an interview with SG Magazine, Lim explained that she had spoken to former residents who “gave her their anecdotes of seeing the old street filled with buffaloes running around.”

Glancing up at the commercial buildings and observing the whole of the city, I began to notice the presence of greenery within the architecture and urban spaces. Rooftop terraces are not uncommon throughout Singapore. In fact, the addition of green spaces is part of the country’s goal to become the world’s “greenest city.”

At Gardens by the Bay, infrastructure is purposely built in an effort to increase energy efficiency and visitors are invited to enjoy public art and sculpture all while being outdoors. At night, people can view a temporary installation titled #futuretogether by teamLab collective. Composed of floating egg-shaped lights, viewers’ interaction with the ovoids alter the speed at which they change colours, ultimately, illuminating the bay in bright purple, turquoise, yellow and red.

Along the Melaka River in Malaysia, houses and boutiques are entirely covered in urban art. Each mural pays homage to a different cultural group and their respective histories in Malaysia. The works are unattributed, however, clearly intentional and not to be mistaken for vandalism. As with much of the street art in the rest of Melaka City, a large Chinese influence is present; a cartoon depiction of a guardian lion painted in red hues makes up most of the mural on one residential building. Nearby, murals portray scenes of people dancing in traditional dress.

Reflecting on the art further into my trip, I realized I was not so much enthralled by the artworks themselves, but rather what they represented. It is no secret that Montreal’s street art is not exactly representative of the city’s complex history. To see Singapore, a country with a complicated history and political system, and Malaysia, a developing country, make the effort to get the population to engage within these urban spaces was eye-opening, to say the least.

Montreal’s year-round climate is not quite like the 37 ºC that I basked in for the last two weeks of February. It is understandable that outdoor garden sculptures are not the most feasible public attraction in a city where sub-zero weather lasts for over half of the year. Accurate representation of Montreal’s history, Indigenous population and minority groups, however, definitely does not require an ideal temperature. Montreal, you have some work to do.

 

 

Photos by Lorenza Mezzapelle

Categories
Arts

Breaking down walls and heightening accessibility

Surfaces will be on display at the Promenade des Artistes in the Quartier des Spectacles until Oct. 28. The exhibition is outdoors and open to the public. Photo by Mackenzie Lad.

Redefining Montreal’s urban landscape in Surfaces

Montreal is alive with street art, from huge murals and intricate details, to vibrant colours and distinct graffiti. In artworks across the city, there is a re-understanding of the landscape and surrounding environment. Traditional ways of viewing and accessing art are challenged.

Surfaces, on display from Aug. 23 to Oct. 28 at the Promenade des Artistes in Quartier des Spectacles, is a multidisciplinary urban exhibition showcasing works

from some of Montreal’s most successful street artists. Displaying 14 works by 16 artists and collectives—including Miss Me, Omen, Zek One and Shalak Attack—the exhibition features distinctive and varied works.

The exhibition’s pieces are primarily displayed on large, individual panels, paired with signs that provide information about the respective artists and their practices. Two sculptural works are also displayed; one made of individually detailed concrete cubes and the other is a car, decorated with writing. There is diversity and variety in the distinct style of each artist, which showcases the versatility of the street art format and provides something for every viewer.

Miss Me, a prominent figure in Montreal’s urban art scene, is known for her explicitly political and feminist art. At Surfaces, the artist’s panel consists of five mostly nude female figures, all with their faces covered by a ski mask with cartoon-style mouse ears. The bodies are adorned with drawings and statements, including “IT’S NOT ME, IT’S YOU” and “Stop blaming women for the misbehaviours of men.”

Cedar Eve is an Anishinaabe artist and a Concordia fine arts alumna, having graduated in 2012. Her piece in Surfaces depicts brightly coloured, surrealist figures in spaces of transformation and metamorphosis. The work is connected to her First Nations identity and is inspired by stories shared with her as a child.

In the case of both these artists, the political and the personal are explored and shared through their work. Taking up space in a city and displaying these powerful messages is also arguably a political move.

Accessibility is a regularly discussed and dissected issue within the art world. Who can access art? How does privilege and class influence accessibility? Institutions, such as art galleries and museums, often appear as exclusive spaces for select communities, and are not always physically accessible for all. Further boundaries can be found in the realms of academia. Art is often not accessible in this way either, as many viewers often feel discouraged by the potential condescension within the artistic community.

Street art explores and challenges these questions and the normative institutions of viewing art. Painting on structures and areas within the city also fights the concept of ownership and select viewing, heightening accessibility for all. This aspect was clearly considered by the curators of Surfaces, who aptly display the 16 works in a public, outdoor space rather than inside a gallery.

Surfaces will be on display at the Promenade des Artistes in the Quartier des Spectacles until Oct. 28. The exhibition is outdoors and open to the public.

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