This year, during the month of June, around twenty new walls will be created by Canadian and American urban art artists.

The French-speaking metropolis has several hundred frescoes, often large, especially in its central districts.

Inaugurated in 2012, the Mural festival dedicated to street art now allows Montreal to be one of the cities "leader in urban arts" and "street art, in North America", explains to AFP Pierre-Alain Benoît, its director.

Mural by the artist Hatecopy, Montreal, June 16, 2022 Paola Chapdelaine AFP

Among the artists invited this year, an Aboriginal artist.

Caroline Monnet chose to paint geometric patterns "passed from generation to generation in the families" of her Anishinaabe community, she explains to AFP.

"We have been excluded from any cultural expression for a very long time. So there, to be able to have my art on a platform as large as this one, then for it to be accessible to a wide audience too, I find that good. I find that 'we're taking a step forward,' adds this artist, spray paint in hand and large white-rimmed glasses.

The open-air museum aspect greatly appeals to Kata Hull, a painter originally from Boston passing through Montreal, stopped under the partially finished fresco by Caroline Monnet.

A passer-by admires street art artists in action, in Montreal, June 16, 2022 Paola Chapdelaine AFP

"I like to see art anywhere, and outdoors, it seems more accessible to more people. Not everyone is interested in galleries," says this tourist, accompanied by her husband.

Natalie Capuano, who has already taken more than 500 photos of the murals, is very proud to see these paintings because "it changes the image of the city".

"It's a great pleasure to come and discover the new murals every year, we are often surprised and it's much more beautiful than bare walls in the end," says this Montrealer who wears a very colorful Mickey t-shirt and big glasses. of Sun.

Indigenous artist Caroline Monnet puts the finishing touches to her mural, in Montreal, June 16, 2022 Paola Chapdelaine AFP

Among the famous frescoes, the city has two huge ones bearing the effigy of the singer Léonard Cohen, born in the agglomeration of Montreal and who died in 2016.

© 2022 AFP