Le Montraler imagines a local take on The New Yorker's covers

What would Montrealers see on the cover of a homegrown magazinein the spirit of The New Yorker?

That's the question being explored in 52illustrations in the expositionLe Montraler, on display at the Maison de la culture Plateau Mont-Royal.

RenaudPlante, one of the project's three organizers, saidartists across various styles were asked to participatethey bring schools from minimalism to cartoon into the mix.

"We wanted a large palette," he said.

The visions of Montreal captured by these artists range from political, like a woman wearing a burka, to playful, as seen in a squirrel scamperingoff with abagel.

Some of the artists came up with a more personal takeon the city while others offered an editorial overview.

Plantesaid the team carefully chose their artists and were confident they would be rewarded for their selection.

"We knew thetalent we had," Plantesaid.

Still, he added that some of the artistshad to leave their comfort zone to create the quirky works.

Giving life to landmarks

One of his favourite pieces is by Diane Obomsawin, a filmmaker and cartoonist whose work has been published by Drawn & Quarterly.

It features the iconic Molson brewery smoking a cigarette.

"It was amazing to see how she gave life to that famous building," Plantesaid.

VisitorClineGagnonsaid it was one of her favourite pieces too.

She's lived in Montreal for 30 years and used to work around the corner from the building.

But she said it was hard to pick an absolute favourite.

"They all bring back memories," Gagnon said.

In addition to the illustrations, three artists have contributed text-based works about the city.

Inspired by Paris show

The project's other two organizers, Marion Arbona and Nicolas Trost, are illustrators who were inspired to create this exhibition after seeing a similar one in Paris called The Parisianerin 2013 it also exploredthe zeitgeist of the city through cover art.

That was in 2014 andby the following year they were deciding how to start the project. In 2016 they began reaching out to artists.

Montreal is only the latest city toco-optThe New Yorker's cover styleThe Tokyoiterwas similarly inspired.

LeMontralercan be seen at theMaison de la culture Plateau Mont-Royaluntil Jan. 14. Admission is free.