Should public art be commercialized? Montreal Mural Festival spurs discussion

The Montreal Mural Festival was born out of a desire to make public art more accessible, and, of course, a love of street art — but what happens when an art form viewed by many as being innately political becomes associated with corporate interests?

That's part of the discussion surrounding this year's festival.

Now in its sixth year, the 11-day jamboree keeps growing, and most of its events remain free to the public. 

"We've been working with artists for many years, and we want to give them a huge spotlight in the city and try to revitalize a neighbourhood with art," said Yan Cordeau, one of the festival's co-founders.

Graffiti's roots go back to the 1970s in the Bronx, New York, where it was closely tied to the birth of hip hop. Often, a social or political message was attached to the artwork.

At this year's festival, local artists and some from as far away as the United Kingdom and Mexico are setting up on side streets to paint large-scale murals.

Like the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Mural Festival gets funding from the municipal and provincial governments. It also gets funds from corporations like Fido, the company sponsoring this year's main wall off St-Laurent Boulevard, just above Sherbrooke Street.

Festival co-founder André Bathalon said companies have sponsored two or three murals at this year's festival, but they don't have a say over what the artists produce.

"The artist has complete carte blanche to create what he wants, and that's very important for us, and it's something we're going to defend forever," Bathalon said.

When the Rogers Cup sponsored a mural at the festival a few years ago, the artist had to make the painting vaguely tennis-themed.

Last year, the festival had a mural on Duluth Avenue that was sponsored by Kraken Rum. It displayed the hashtag #RelachezleKraken alongside a detailed depiction of the mythical sea creature.

Yan Courdeau, another co-founder of the festival, said it wasn't ideal to have such overt, sponsored content.

However, despite the wall being funded by Kraken, the artist was inspired by the brand, and it gave him a chance to paint a mural, he said.

"For us it's [also] a way of clearly funding the festival, which is needed," Courdeau told CBC's Duke Eatmon. 

Some artists prefer not to work with brands and preserve their vision totally, Cordeau said, but some of them also want — and deserve — to get paid.

For Jason Botkin, an artist who runs the street art project En Masse and painted a Mural Festival piece in 2016, the festival could do even more to protect artists and their work from corporate interests.

"The commercial use of [art] is very delicate," Botkin said.

"I think it's one to tread lightly, and ideally there should be as little interference as possible … when it comes to work that should speak to the public and resonate meaningfully with them."

But, he says, artists need to eat, and there's a right way to communicate with corporations to make them understand an artist's vision.

Ultimately, the Mural Festival aims to be the link between the two — and allow big brands and artists to work together.

The Montreal Mural Festival started Thursday. St-Laurent Boulevard will be closed between Sherbrooke Street and Mont-Royal Avenue until June 17 to serve as the main artery for pedestrians looking to check out the murals.