MURAL festival 2014 puts wow on walls

Have you seen that beautiful mural just off the Main, near Prince-Arthur? And the other one next to it? And the one next to that? We’ve all got last year’s international public art festival MURAL to thank for those, and from June 12 to 15, they’re at it again…

Over four festive days, while the Main is closed off to traffic and there’s a sidewalk sale on, MURAL’s list of 23 local and international invited artists will be busy beautifying forgotten walls all around us under our very eyes. And the greatest thing is that those works will live with us for years – instead of getting the new batch of artists to paint over previous work, each year the MURAL guys find new blank walls for their artists to use. That means that the festival is creating nothing short of a cumulative enrichment of our visual existence. (Stop me, I’m waxing poetic!)

In addition to a slew of local superstars (can anyone say Zilon, Fred Caron, Zema and MissMe?), among the guests from away this year there’s Kashink, from France, a visual force to be reckoned with whose defense of equal rights and gay marriage have given birth to incredible murals around the globe, as well as powerful projects like 50 Cakes of Gay. From Brazil, Nunca brings a rich, unique style marked by crosshatching and shading that creates an impacting sense of volumes in his work, much of which treats of political subjects affecting his native country. The Polish artist Bezt, from the duo Etam Cru (with Sainer), makes crazy ambitious projects that are more than large-scale – they’re massive, epic, fantastic! The duo’s work on walls in Russia, Germany and their home country confirm this will be one of the most beautiful things made this year in Montreal.

MURAL is synonymous with art, but it’s also a four-day party, with film screenings and, this year, tons of live music, including a Musical Block Party every day. Don’t miss the opening bash on June 12, with music programmed by the peeps at MEG!

THE DETAILS

MURAL festival, June 12-15, 2014

Photo credits: Susan Moss, Art by A’Shop and Chris Dyer

Take advantage of your stay in Montreal with this Sweet Deal package!