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8 Stunning Public Artworks That Make Montreal (Canada) Feel Alive

June 13, 2025
By Vidar

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Split image showing two public art scenes in Montreal, Canada. On the left, the Moving Dunes installation transforms a pedestrian street with wavy yellow-orange stripes and reflective chrome spheres, where children walk and play. On the right, a towering nighttime mural of Leonard Cohen in a fedora and suit looks over downtown Montreal, warmly lit by streetlights and surrounded by historic buildings and cars.

Montreal’s streets are filled with stories — painted high on buildings, nestled on brick walls, or stretching across pedestrian zones. In this collection, a girl climbs toward the word “HOPE” on a side door mural, a tribute to persistence by The Art Therapy. Leonard Cohen gazes out over the city he loved from two towering portraits downtown, while children run along a warped, surreal street installation under a summer sky. A young girl with birdhouses balanced on her shoulder meets your gaze, and Paula Carreira’s mural reimagines music as a wall-bound homage. From comic-style character studies to vibrant dreamscapes, here are 8 pieces that capture the rhythm and feeling of Montreal’s art scene.

More: When Street Art Meets Nature (40 Photos)

Black-and-white mural of a young girl climbing a white ladder that forms the letter H in the word “HOPE,” painted on a brick door facade in Montreal, Canada.

1. HOPE — Street Art by The Martherapy in Montreal, Canada

A black-and-white mural shows a young girl climbing a ladder made from the letter “H” in the word “HOPE.” The message is direct: ascent, optimism, and the strength of youth.

🔗 Follow The Martherapy on Instagram

Giant mural of Leonard Cohen in a fedora, hand to heart, painted on a downtown Montreal high-rise building with modern apartments and condos surrounding the mural.
Photo by Lia Matera
Nighttime view of the Leonard Cohen mural in Montreal, illuminated by city lights, surrounded by street life, restaurants, and traffic on a wet street corner.
Photo by Phillip Wd Martin

2. Leonard Cohen Smiles On Us — Mural by EL MAC & Gene Pendon in Montreal, Canada

Painted on the side of a high-rise in downtown Montreal, this towering mural honors Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. He’s portrayed with his hand to his chest, in a fedora, softly smiling.

🔗 Follow EL MAC on Instagram

Three-dimensional mural of a hedgehog’s face on a street corner in Montreal, Canada by Bordalo II. The left half is made from dull metal, wires, and industrial waste, while the right half is constructed from colorful plastic trash like toy parts, containers, and helmets. The background wall is painted white on one side and red on the other. A child on a bike and pedestrians walk past the sculpture.

3. Half Hedgehogg — Bordalo II’s mural in Montreal, Canada for MURAL Festival

A striking three-dimensional mural made entirely from trash and found objects, this piece by Bordalo II portrays a hedgehog split in two styles. One half is in raw metallic tones, the other bursting with colorful plastics. Installed on a building corner, the work highlights environmental waste with bold visual contrast.

More by Bordalo II: 22 photos – A Collection of Street Art by Bordalo II

Interactive urban art installation in Montreal featuring a wavy yellow-striped surface with large chrome spheres, surrounded by pedestrians walking and children playing.

4. Moving Dunes — Urban Art Installation in Montreal, Canada

On Avenue du Musée, undulating yellow and orange stripes simulate desert dunes, while polished chrome spheres reflect the street and sky. It invites interaction and reimagines the pedestrian zone as a living sculpture.

More photos and about it: Moving Dunes – Open-air art museum in Montreal, Quebec

Large mural of a girl with a scarf and bundled clothing holding a stick with birdhouses and a bird perched on it, painted on a wall in Montreal.

5. Mural by Bezt in Montreal, Canada

This large-scale mural shows a young woman with her eyes closed, balancing birdhouses on a stick slung over her shoulder as a bird perches on it. The palette is rich in greens, reds, and browns.

Bold, stylized mural of a woman holding a Portuguese guitar painted across the façade of a red brick building in Montreal with windows integrated into the artwork.

6. Mural by Paulo Carreira in Montreal, Canada

A stylized portrait of a woman holding a Portuguese guitar fills a red brick building façade, blending portraiture with cultural symbolism. The woman’s gaze is thoughtful, rendered in bold graphic lines.

7. Mural by Polographe in Montreal, Canada

A close-up portrait in a bold, comic-book style shows a woman with platinum hair under a teal beanie. Her expression is sharp, with a dark background adding contrast to her skin tones and features.

🔗 Follow Polographe on Instagram

8. Street Art by Ashop Crew at MURAL Festival in Montreal, Canada

This colorful piece features an elderly woman wielding a spray can, surrounded by doves, dreamlike bubbles, and a purple-toned street scene. It blurs realism with fantasy in one of the city’s most recognizable street art walls.

🔗 Follow Ashop Crew on Instagram

From poetic tributes to immersive installations, Montreal continues to thrive as an open-air museum where artists elevate everyday walls and walkways into unforgettable experiences. These pieces reflect the city’s diverse spirit — one of memory, imagination, and hope.

More: Street Art Utopia: Why People Fall In Love With Outdoor Art (25 Photos)

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3 Comments

  1. The woman holding a Portuguese Guitar is the internationally known and acclaimed Fado Singer Amalia Rodrigues. She is the best known “ambassador” of fado and she passed away in 1999.

    Reply
  2. 8 Stunning Public Artworks That Make Montreal Feel Alive – STREET ART UTOPIA | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News
    June 12, 2025

    […] 8 Stunning Public Artworks That Make Montreal Feel Alive – STREET ART UTOPIA — Read on streetartutopia.com/2025/06/12/stunning-public-artworks-that-make-montreal-feel-alive/ […]

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  3. @streetartutopia The one pictured on the left of this toot is my hands-down favorite. Most of the pictures look 3D, but I gather from a roadie cyclist riding it and a picture from the side that it is actually flat. Crazy. https://streetartutopia.com/2024/02/05/moving-dunes/

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