pics, words – fish
Infectiously collaborative, Montreal’s monochrome En Masse Project was first seen in Edmonton as part of the 2012 Works. Artists from across the city dropped by, tattooing a giant gate on Churchill Square with paint and ink, an act of teamwork where many of its players never even met.
Jason Botkin is one of the founders of EMP, and the Edmonton Arts Council has commissioned him to project lead an En Masse underpass under 97th Avenue along the High Level Bridge streetcar tracks. I dropped by to grab a few pics and Botkin invited me in to add to the panels (governmentally not allowed to touch the actual walls – bwok bwok – but it’s a baby step in creating a tourist attraction like, well, all of Montreal).
About a dozen local artists have now joined in, including teenage writers, illustrator Smokey Johnson, a pair of Scotts Paul Freeman brought by from Nina Haggerty Centre and spray-paint superman AJ Louden. The list grows.
This permanent piece of art is not a free wall, though plenty are popping up around town – and the En Masse Underpass will be coated and protected by the Arts Council as a piece of public art. Hopefully a nearby sign will explain this fact, pointing to the free walls.
Though there’s no more sanctimonious glare than a cycler’s with someone in the way, people have been demonstrably happy with the work as it develops. It’s a bold step for a city which routinely emits sentences like “street art is not art” in its policies. We’re growing nuanced!
The unveiling is 1 p.m., Sept. 12, according to the EAC, here’s a look at the process:
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