Façades : Fenêtres sur ma ville (windows on my city)
Tourisme Montréal
Montréal is a city of murals, famed around the world for their colourful exuberance and epic tributes on the sides of its buildings to local legends like Jackie Robinson and Leonard Cohen. And when contemplating the best way to commemorate Tourisme Montréal’s 100th anniversary celebrations, it was an easy pick to create a large-scale mural in tribute to both our century of welcoming visitors and the spirit of the city we call home. Working in collaboration with MU, we’re proud to present Façades : Fenêtres sur ma ville by Chilean-born Montréal artist Rafael Sottolichio on Peel Street, and visible from Dorchester Square.
Look up! Way up!
Much as Sottolichio’s paintings burst from the canvas, Façades : Fenêtres sur ma ville is an explosion of colour that also utilizes the surrounding architecture in its expressive tribute to Montréal’s dynamism and multiculturalism. And much like the city around it, Façades reveals itself differently depending from where you view it. Taken in from Dorchester Square, the piece pays tribute to the city’s neoclassical architecture, while the view from Sainte-Catherine Street reveals a trompe-l'œil of the modernist building the mural itself is painted on. Much as Montréal blends cutting-edge modernity with old world charm, Façades pays fitting tribute to both our city’s rich history and its bright future.
A bouquet of gratitude
While Tourisme Montréal’s 100th anniversary celebrations were put momentarily on hold during the Covid-19 pandemic, we noticed a shift in our importance not just to out-of-town visitors, but to Montréalers who turned to us as a source of tips and ideas for getting the most out of their city. As the world cautiously re-opens and Montréal once again opens its arms to international tourists, we wanted to commemorate the vitality and resilience of our city, along with those ephemeral Montrealers who come to visit. Façades : Fenêtres sur ma ville is our way of saying “Bienvenue!” and “Merci Beaucoup!” all at once – and here’s to another 100 years of great travel experiences, eye-popping murals and unforgettable #mtlmoments.