Art in progress: Montreal brick becomes canvas at Mural Fest

The streets of Montreal will be a little more colourful once the 18 new murals going up as part of Mural Fest 2018are complete.

The public art will decorate the walls in the Plateau, Quartier des Spectacles and Golden Square Mile, as artists from near and far work feverishly tocreate their masterpieces. The works will all be completed by the end of the festival on June 17.

SandraChevrier is a Montreal-based artist who began work on her mural at the corner ofSt-Laurent Boulevard and Napoleon Street on Monday.

Chevrierhas shown her work around the world, but it's her first time at Montreal Mural Fest.

Her mural,a portrait of a woman in asuperheromask, is part of a series called SuperheroCagesshe's been working on for several years.

"It's about the pressure that society and ourselves put on our shoulders trying to be perfect in our everyday lives," she said.

This mural, which spells out the French word for authenticity,is located at the corner at Milton Street and Parc Avenue.

Its creator is London-based artist Ben Eine, who is known for his use of bright colours and bold text.

A mural by Montreal-based artist Le Monstris going up at the corner of Square Saint-Louis andHenri-JulienAvenue.

The artist behind the name, Franco-Canadian Benjamin Tran, settled in Montreal after studying graphic design in Paris.

The is the sixth editionof Mural Fest, which runs from June 7 to 17 and includes the blocking off of a section of St-Laurent Boulevardas pedestrian only.

Over the years, the murals have provided afacelift to some shabby alleyways.

Pedro Amos and Ryan the Wheelbarrow run the tour company Miami's Best Graffiti Guideand have been visiting the festival since its inception.

"It's grown exponentially since it first started," saidWheelbarrow, who goes by his artist name. "It's one of the best mural festivals on the planet."

Not all of this year'sinstallations are in the Plateau-Mont-Royal or even on an outside wall, for that matter.

In a parking garage off Stanley Street between De MaisonneuveBoulevard and Sherbrooke Street, an "in-between" universe has been created by the American artist duo, Cyrcle.

The installation is a series of indoor murals on the walls and floor of the parking garage.

It explores themes of space, astrophyics and time, and is intended to "blur our perception of space."

So, it's fitting that the huge artwork is in the parking garage of Lune Rouge, Cirque du Soleil mogul Guy Lalibert's creative innovation company.

Lalibert became the first Canadian space tourist in 2009, an experience that he says marked him.

Tag your photos with #cbcmontrealor send them on Facebook for a chance to be featured in the gallery.