Graffiti Art, Hip hop, Breakdancing & Skate Culture Celebrated on the streets of Montreal

©MyETVmedia 2012. Photo: Emma Robertson.

Montreal’s 17^th annual international graffiti convention, better known as Under Pressure promised to be bigger, better and more colourful than ever. With sky-high stories of scaffolding clinging to the black-painted back walls of buildings, graffiti artists of all kinds set up camp and work tirelessly throughout the day to create works of art, literally right before your eyes. Under Pressure almost rivals a live installation exhibit in that way: hundreds of people crowded into back alleys and parking lots, or perched on the sidewalk to watch the artists at work. Last weekend’s events were, as usual, held throughout the downtown area of Montreal, Canada and if you’ve never been to Under Pressure, the festival site is emphatically eccentric – a fitting look for a two-day long event that brings together not only street art and graffiti culture, but hip hop, skateboarding, breakdancing and MCing. Under Pressure represents the best of the best in urban art from all over Canada and the United States.

©MyETVmedia 2012. Photo: Emma Robertson.

Even though the spray paint fumes admittedly went to my head a couple times, the range of artistic styles was truly incredible – from simple tags, to portraiture, to caricature, to typology and everything in between.  I was a bit disappointed that there seemed to be a lack of a female voice throughout the weekend, but Montreal street artist Miss Me made up for that with her unique, intricate paper on wall designs. Her style blends surrealism with urban and vintage aesthetic, cleverly subverting its sneaky details into silly or remarkable embellishments.

©MyETVmedia 2012. Photo: Emma Robertson.

One of the best parts about Under Pressure is that you get to watch the art grow; when I returned on Sunday afternoon, what had started out as small wall pieces had grown overnight into large scale murals that truly transformed the downtown area. UP’s mission really came to life, all the while working towards diminishing street art’s bad reputation. Next, I stopped by the breakdancing competition, dubbed “Up Yours!” sponsored by Converse for some bboy battles featuring three-on-three teams from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, and judged by veterans in the industry. The crowd was also graced with short breakdancing numbers from the judges themselves, with Toronto bboy and rapper, QRock