A new summer festival is popping up in an area organizers say was an artistic desert for too long.
Vitrine Festival is taking place this week in Montreal’s Southwest borough, a grassroots effort that aims to showcase emerging artists who wouldn’t have an opportunity in Montreal’s established festival scene.
During their shows, Vitrine combines music, art and food to create a unique experience.
“For example, we have a music jam that’s going to be with live painting, so we try to see when you put two disciplines together in the same room, how do they communicate with each other,” explained Moose Felinhi, Vitrine’s co-founder.
Their first event: a DJ and a chef faceoff last weekend, with the event’s leftover food going to a non-profit organization.
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Known as Canada’s cultural capital, Montreal is host to dozens of festivals every year. Some of the country’s biggest, like the Montreal International Jazz Festival, call the city home.
But organizers say Vitrine is like no other.
“First of all we’re based in the Southwest and if you look at the festival map in Montreal, there’s a big hole around the area of Griffintown, St. Henri and Verdun,” Felinhi said.
Vitrine looks to fill that void.
Felinhi got together with a group of friends who are also artists and organized it with their own money and through crowdfunding.
It’s not a profitable endeavour yet. Felinhi says they are driven by purpose: providing a window into the area’s underground artistic scene, which includes visual artist Angie Miljanovic.
“I was very intrigued by this project because they allowed me to be very creative. I didn’t have very many restrictions with how I can project these ideas to the general public.”
Miljanovic created the festival’s posters, inspired by Andy Warhol.
She will be one of seven artists painting live to the beat of Growve, a musical group, at an upcoming event on Thursday.
“With music, I get super inspired and I see colours so when it’s a live performance, I never know what I’m going to paint,” Miljanovic told Global News.
It’s an artistic freedom she says only a grassroots event like Vitrine can provide.
Vitrine runs until Saturday, the full programming is available on the festival’s website.