It was during a stay in Philadelphia with Cirque du Soleil when the co-founders of MU, Elizabeth-Ann Doyle and Emmanuelle Hébert discovered the extent of the city’s mural art phenomenon (Mural Arts Program) and its impact on the exposure to art as well as the social and economic development of the city. They knew then that Montreal would be a perfect host for such a project and thus the idea of MU sparked to life… Montreal was going to see its urbanism and humanity exposed on its walls!
MU produced its first mural in 2007 in the borough of Saint-Michel. Since then, success has surpassed their wildest dreams:
- Production of more than 130 murals of stature and more than 300 community projects in 17 boroughs of the city;
- Direct involvement of 10,000 young people in the beautification of their neighbourhoods via school, after-school, extracurricular and community youth organizations;
- Revitalisation of thirty Social Housing Projects in partnership with the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), the Corporation d’habitation Jeanne-Mance (CHJM) and the Société d’habitation de Montréal (SHDM);
- More than 2 million $ in artistic fees since 2007;
- Creation of more than 130 jobs for the next artistic generation (visual arts or arts education students)
- High calibre artistic collaborations with, among others, Robert Lepage, Roadsworth, Paul Béliveau, Miyuki Tanobe, the Oscar Peterson family, Cirque du Soleil, National Theatre School, Espace GO, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde;
- Numerous distinctions, including: Winner of the 34th Grand Prix du Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal Distinction Awards (Innovation Award – under 50 employees), two Grafika prizes (2008 and 2012), Andrée-Daigle Citizen of Culture prize from the Arts and the City Network (2012) and two National Prizes from the Quebecois en entrepreneuriat contest (2008).