Around sixty new works have just appeared in the alleys of a single Montreal neighborhood. Your canvas? The local walls, provided free of charge by owners who had no idea what would be painted there…
Published at 1:04 am. Updated at 8:00 a.m.
I love walking through the streets. They allow different access to houses and reveal their hidden, more real and lived-in side. In Vieux-Rosemont they also unveil… a museum. Thanks to Canettes de ruelle, the neighborhood is decorated every year with works by local graffiti artists, muralists, painters, illustrators and tattoo artists.
I took part in the seventh edition of the event at the beginning of September. In three days, more than 80 artists painted nearly 60 walls between 5th and 9th Avenues, then between Boulevard Saint-Joseph and Rue Masson. This open-air exhibition will last a year, because from the next Labor Day everything has to be reinvented.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
In three days, more than 80 artists painted nearly 60 walls between 5th and 9th Avenues, then between Boulevard Saint-Joseph and Rue Masson.
The citizen approach was initiated in 2017 by Clarence Quirion-Nolin, a muralist in search of surfaces that could be enlarged. When he asked his neighbors, several offered to donate a wall to him. The project has grown from year to year. Today the annual event is led by Clarence, Dominique Azocar and Olivier Bousquet.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Olivier Bousquet
There are established artists and others doing their first mural. We try to show as many styles and techniques as possible. It’s an opportunity for artists to experiment because they have free rein!
Olivier Bousquet
While the creators are busy, the spirit helps one another. Some residents clean brushes or make their yard available for material storage. Local vendors offered food and refreshments to the troops. Volunteers are everywhere. Even a portion of the budget required to create the murals comes from the community through a crowdfunding campaign.
Everyone gives themselves over to the joy of art, that’s clear.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Julie Maurice and her son Kiliann Dionne
Julie Maurice, who has lived in the neighborhood for a year and a half, confirms this to me: “We have noticed that people from elsewhere are walking on our streets, stopping and taking photos. It is an event that has an impact all year round. »
While she introduces me to her son Kiliann, artists Julian Palma and Kaori work on the scaffolding near her house. A face appears on the giant candy pink surface.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Julie Maurice’s house
Kiliann confesses to me that his favorite mural in the area is by Julian Palma. It is a beautiful blue bird that can be seen from your garden. He is pleased that his own mural will also bear his mark.
But isn’t it a little stressful not knowing what the duo will be painting in your home?
“On the contrary, it’s exciting,” Julie Maurice answers me. We get involved in the adventure and that’s part of it. Come what will happen! »
A little further I discover the mural by the artist Antoine Claes and his 8-year-old son Émile. Their duet is called “Les fils and chips”. This year they are offering a large canvas so that children from the region can also create something. Around thirty of them have carried out the experiment so far. And when given the choice between different tools, most people choose the spray (the paint can). I understand you.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Émile, 8 years old, works with his father on the mural “Les fils and chips”.
“The intention is to open the mind and make people enjoy painting,” Antoine Claes tells me. I’m surprised how well it works… Because besides video games, it’s just color! »
Definitely a damn nice color.
In another alley in the neighborhood, Jamie Janx Johnston is waiting for the children. The artist has been working as a museum educator for a long time. He has prepared leaf-shaped stencils that young people can paint on a wall with a giant praying mantis.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Jamie Janx Johnston
I want them to learn that art is accessible. That’s what we do on the streets, you know! Not everyone can afford to go to a gallery…
Jamie Janx Johnston
Art for everyone. It is wonderful. Especially if you come from an environment that is sometimes characterized by loneliness.
“We practice a very solo art,” Eksept, a regular at Canettes de Ruelle, confides to me. We are often alone in our group. It’s important to host events like this to grab a coffee or share a painting with other artists. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Diane Roe and MSHL
Diane Roe compares it to a family gathering where we can finally see our distant loved ones again (without arguing). His wall and life partner MSHL adds that so much mutual help and volunteer work “brings balm to the heart.”
He comes from graffiti, she from fine art. Together they paint a great abstract work. I’ve rarely seen anything like that.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Diane Roe
Alley cans, it’s a time to explore. Because we have carte blanche, it is very different from a contract. Then I draw a sketch, then… We don’t do the sketch at all.
Diane Roe
She laughs and I bow to this carelessness.
If everything created here is ephemeral, I am reassured to know that the works generally remain untouched. It is rare that they are destroyed, which is the result of a dialogue between the organizing team and the street artists.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
When designing the activities, the focus is on the well-being of the creators, their community and the neighborhood.
Olivier Bousquet draws my attention to a graffiti by Alex Scaner, an important artist who died in 2017. We would never cover it with a mural. When designing the activities, the focus is on the well-being of the creators, their community and the neighborhood.
I tell myself that if some people denigrate the art that takes place on the streets, it is because they have never spent a morning listening to the artists of Canettes de ruelle. I hope they come visit next year or at least take a walk in the Vieux-Rosemont district in the meantime.
There is something to amaze everyone.