For 20 years, the arts organization MU has been painting murals many stories high across Montreal. MU is the largest private employer of visual artists in Quebec, with more than 300 permanent murals in every borough of Montreal. While they are best known for their Leonard Cohen mural on Crescent Street, they also pursue grassroots projects. “It’s always been to do local and social development and transformation with art in the public sphere,” artistic director and co-founder Elizabeth-Ann Doyle said. MU’s mission is to push for social change through public art, like getting the community involved in beautifying social housing sites like Habitations Jeanne-Mance. “Architecture, the site, the urban planning, and see what we can do to not only embellish but really transform,” Doyle said. MU’s team finds and researches the sites. Then, it matches a muralist to the project. “We’ve paid tribute to 35 artists in the city in all artistic disciplines, going from dance to classical music to Jazz,” she said. MU is where so many artists have gotten their start. “We have a mentorship program for fine arts students from Concordia and UQAM,” Doyle said, and added, “in 20 years we’ve given more than $7 million in fees for artists. So we are a good employer for fine arts, our artists in the city. So I’m quite proud of that!” To celebrate their 20th anniversary, MU has a colourful new photo book out, featuring their journey and the wider Montreal outdoor art scene too. They also have an exhibition starting Sept. 8 at Conseil des arts de Montreal. “An entire chapter on Montreal’s mural art history since the 19th century. And then again, we talk about communities and artists,” Doyle said. “It’s still a lot of work, a lot of convincing, always looking for walls and financing.”
