Art hits the streets at Festival International Montreal en Arts

Eastern downtown is lighting up this week with the Festival International Montréal en Arts, where galleries have no walls and the tarmac turns into a canvas…

You know the festive frenzy that takes over the streets when one of Montreal’s famous musical festivals takes place? Well Festival International Montréal en Arts is the visual arts’ answer to that. It’s a sale, a performance art happening, a movie theatre under the stars, a live painting show and Eastern Canada’s largest open-air art gallery all wrapped in one, and it lasts four days, from June 12 to 16. This edition, its 14^th, unites over 140 artists spread along the kilometre of Sainte-Catherine East that separates St-Hubert and Papineau.

Among the live painting events there’s a grandiose project bringing together five artist collectives, who will decorate Place Émilie-Gamelin with an urban totem between June 13 and 15. The muralists Gaia, from New York, will join forces with Montreal’s En Masse and Cease and Toronto’s Trio Magnus, as well as the international crew Bruxas to create a colourful collection of totems. At Parc de l’Espoir, meanwhile, on the corner of Panet, the Décover space will present a 28-foot mural created by a bunch of young artists including Étienne Chartrand and Zoltan Veevaete. Watch them create it live.

Aside from the partying and performative aspect, FIMA is also a great opportunity to collect art by local artists like Sandra Chevrier and Marie-Claude Vezeau, which you can get directly from the artists, without the intermediary of a gallery of dealer. Lower costs, more direct contact with the magic-makers – it’s a no brainer!

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THE DETAILS

Festival International Montréal en Arts, June 12-16, 2013