The public-art initiative l’art en mouvement is transforming Montreal’s dull grey BIXI bikes and stations into colourful mobile and open-air exhibitions across the city this summer.
Three Concordia alumni — Trevor Kiernander, BFA 06, Gabor Bata, BFA 19, MFA 23, and Alexandra Riesbri, BFA 24, — are among the artists contributing to the project.
“I love that my work can be part of something with this broad of a reach and that can be part of the city’s summer,” says Bata. “It’s a fun challenge, to make a design that you’re creatively excited about while also making something that you hope people will connect with and want to ride.”
Kiernander, who’s also a part-time instructor in Concordia’s Department of Studio Arts, agrees that the project offers a fun way to get their work out of the gallery and into the streets. “It’s the first time I have worked on a project like this or painted on a relatively slim three-dimensional object. I’m happy with the results.”
For Riesbri, the project carries personal significance. “As an immigrant, seeing my artwork become part of the city’s everyday landscape is incredibly welcoming and meaningful,” she says.
“There is something special about knowing that the work is moving through different neighbourhoods and reaching people in unexpected ways.”