© MURAL Festival, INTL(2014) - Photo by Eva Blue

LNDMRK artists' take over the Main

Robyn Fadden

Robyn Fadden is a Montréal-based writer and editor who searches out city secrets, new bands, life-changing art and things to do with her perpetually active kid. Robyn has covered major events for HOUR, MUTEK, ARTINFO, CKUT 90.3FM and more.

Exquisite, bright, colourful and often playful, massive murals dot Montréal's urban landscape – and creative agency LNDMRK is responsible for bringing many of them to life. This year, the founder of Montréal's MURAL Festival celebrates eight years of artistic activation, from the first MURAL fest in 2013 to covering every square inch of an industrial building in art. The best thing: you can see every mural for yourself, whether you're on the city streets or online.

© Mural Jackie Robinson by Fluke - A'SHOP - Photo by Halopigg

A celebration of street art

Created by LNDMRK to celebrate Montréal's art and culture in a new way, MURAL Festival has launched art careers and thrilled fans of art and music alike, while LNDMRK has brought its artists' talents to countless local and international projects and festivals. This year, LNDMRK launched its official MURAL Festival app, celebrated the autumn launch of its new website loaded with art work for all to see, added to its roster of talented in-house artists, and is cooking up bold new ideas for bringing more mural art to Montréal and the world. 

Brightening every corner of the city

Montréal is no stranger to public art: the streets of the city feature over a 1000 works of art, including hundreds of murals created in the past decade or two — LNDMRK is responsible for at least 85 of them, by artists such as FVCKRENDER, Laurence Vallières, Dalkhafine, Burnt Toast, Marc-Olivier Lamothe and many more. One of the main places to find those murals is, in fact, on the Main: along St. Laurent Blvd. from Chinatown to Mile End and beyond.

© MU, Ville-Marie, ElMac Gene Pendon (2017) - Photo: Eva Blue

Look for more murals downtown, including the famed Leonard Cohen portrait by MU artists Gene Pendon and El Mac, and in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Saint Henri and virtually every neighbourhood in urban Montréal. If you want to go further afield, LNDMRK suggests searching out the old Salada building, covered in a 50,000+ sq ft masterpiece!

Take yourself on an art tour

Some of the most stunning sights in Montréal, murals can take a keen eye or bit of effort to find, but they're definitely worth it. Fire up the official MURAL Festival app to discover over 14 locations where LNDMRK artists and other artists use Montréal as their canvas.

© Festival MURAL - "The Seven Deadly Sins", Buff Monster (2016) - Photo : Alexandre Choquette - Tourisme Montréal

Created specially for street-art lovers, the app takes viewers on a tour of the Main: wander up St. Laurent Blvd. and poke around its side streets to see murals from the summer-long MURAL Esteval 2020 and more. Hear what inspired the artists to create their work and get a glimpse into the history of public art in the area. Or plot your own tour of Montéal using the app's interactive map of over 70 murals!

Robyn Fadden

Robyn Fadden is a Montréal-based writer and editor who searches out city secrets, new bands, life-changing art and things to do with her perpetually active kid. Robyn has covered major events for HOUR, MUTEK, ARTINFO, CKUT 90.3FM and more.

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