Montreal’s MURAL Festival is an eleven-day annual event celebrating the international urban art movement. Championing live art, music, exhibitions and artist talks, the Festival is an important gathering of the global artistic community. World class musicians and visual artists collaborate for a cultural celebration in the heart of Montreal on the Saint-Laurent Boulevard.
Through six successful editions, the MURAL Festival has transformed Montreal, reinforcing Montreal as a ‘go-to’ global destination for contemporary urban art. The Festival also offers 2-hour guided tours of artworks from past editions of the MURAL Festival in the summer months.
2018 saw breathtaking artworks adorn the streets of numerous cities around the world. To celebrate the biggest and brightest pieces that had been created in 2018, the MURAL Festival decided, for the first time ever, to present the MURAL Awards.
Bringing some much-needed recognition to pioneers of the urban art movement, these awards sought the help of a jury panel of experts in the field to highlight what was new, beautiful and fun in the urban art scene. Including two of the festival’s founders, André Bathalon and Yan Cordeau, plus talented street art photographer Daniel Weintraub and renowned art curator Charlotte Dutoit, the jury voted for their favourite urban art piece in nine categories: best abstract mural, best photorealistic mural, best figurative mural, best artistic installation, best emerging artist, project with the most interesting message, best Canadian piece, and most innovative project. Finally, the public was invited to vote for their own favourite urban artwork of the year through MURAL’s Instagram page.
Here are the winners of MURAL’s inaugural 2018 International Mural Awards Competition (click on images to enlarge):
1. Best Abstract Mural
Winner: Camille Walala
“Walala Pop City Mural” is a seven-story composition on the façade of a historic building in Brooklyn’s “Industry City”, an arts and entertainment destination located on the waterfront in Sunset Park.
Location: Brooklyn, New York, USA
Walala Pop City Mural
2. Best Photorealistic Mural
Winner: Sebas Velasco
“Hero of the Day” is a reflection on the Las Vegas nightlife mythology and its unique street culture.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Hero of the Day
3. Best Figurative Mural
Winner: Hyuro
“An Affective Bond” was inspired by the union between Scotland and England. The image aims to “transmit the relationships of conflicts and contradictions that characterize our most complex side”.
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
An Affective Bond
4. Best Artistic Installation
Winner: Felipe Pantone
“W3-DIMENSIONAL Park” is a sculptural representation of glitch effects and optical art. This immersive installation transports viewers into the digital world.
Location: Siam Center, Bangkok, Thailand
W3-DIMENSIONAL Park
5. Best Emerging Artist
Winner: Saddo
“Life is Beautiful” is an homage to Elvis Presley; the suit is inspired by one of Bill Belew’s iconic designs, and the frame contains details from Elvis’ songs and life.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Life is Beautiful
6. Project with the most interesting social message
Winner: Axel Void
“Peterloo” was created for the People’s History Museum to mark the bicentenary of the 1819 Peterloo Massacre in Manchester.
Location: Manchester, England
Peterloo
7. Best Piece by a Canadian
Winner: Ben Johnston
“Por Siempre” (“Forever”) is a reminder to “always be proud of where you are from, your ethnicity and your fellow neighbours”. It was created in the Hispanic area of Worcester, a previously disadvantaged and underprivileged neighbourhood.
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Por Siempre
8. Most Innovative Mural (and also winner of The People’s Choice Award)
Winner: Insane 51
“Rise Up” is a Double Exposure 3D style mural, dedicated to the many people who suffered and died in the village of Mati, 30 km from Athens, during the July 2018 wildfires in Greece.
Location: Bristol, England
Rise Up
This video shows the 3D effect of “Rise Up” by Insane 51:
🔴 3D 🔵 glasses view from the 'Rise Up' mural I did for 2018's @upfest in Bristol, UK.Dedicated to the sufferers from the fire in Greece during July.Thank you for such an amazing festival guys, all the @upfest crew and especially the lads from the Pub! 🍻 Cheers!-The style is called Double exposure 3D-More pictures on the next post 🔜
Posted by Insane 51 on Monday, August 27, 2018
The 2019 Montreal MURAL Fest takes place this year from June 6 to 16. For more information, visit www.muralfestival.com
