Montreal theatre hommage

There is a small collection of murals that pay tribute to actors and theatre in the area near rue Wolfe and rue Robin. All of them were painted under the auspices of MU, an organization that is devoted to creating murals about people and their community.

below: One of these murals is a portrait of actor Denise Pelletier (1923-1976) painted by Mateo (with help from Ilana Pichon, Rocio Perez, and Julien Sicre).

street art mural of Denise Pelletier by Matteo, in Montreal

below: On rue Robin there are two matching murals side by side. On the left is one in blue with a man sitting on top of a ladder. The text reads, in French, “Ne compte jamais sur rien ne restez ni sur un echec, ni sur un succes” ( = Never count on anything, don’t dwell on either failure or success.). It is a tribute to the founders of Théâtre de Quat’Sous and was painted by Gene Pendon.

mural by Gene Pendon in Montreal, in blues, a man sitting on top of a ladder, with text in French Ne compte jamais sur rien ne restez ni sur un echec, ni sur un succes

below: “Commencez toujours autre chose c’est la suite qui compte” = Always start something new; it’s what comes next that counts. This is a quote by theatre director (and writer) Paul Buissonneau (1926-2014). It is the work of street artist Sender.

mural by sender in red and black , white line drawing of a building, with a quote in French from actor Paul Buissonneau, Commencez toujours autre chose c'est la suite qui compte which translates to Always start something new; it's what comes next that counts.

below: La Roulette was the name of Paul Buissonneau’s first theatre. It began in 1952 – performances were outdoors in Montreal parks. According to a nearby plaque, this mural was not a Mu production, instead it was a La SPAG initiative (la société pour la promotion des arts gigantesques) and was created by Laurent Gascon. Gascon has produced eight other similar murals that showcase actors, performers, singers, etc.

street art mural, that looks like mosaic, with words La Roulette, which was a theatre in Montreal.

below: Lastly, there is tribute (painted by Hsix156) to Dominique Michel (b. 1932), a Quebec actress, singer, and comedian. She began her career in cabaret but got a start in television in the 1960s.

street art mural of actress Dominique Michel beside a small park in Montreal

For more information about MU, check out their website (mumtl.org)

Photos taken April 2026

more Montreal women

The previous blog post was about a large Montreal mural by Kevin Ledo that was a portrait of a woman called Mary Socktish. There are a number of other murals in the city that have a woman, or women, as the main feature. These are some of them – the following photos were taken on four visits to Montreal between 2015 and 2021 and some of these murals may no longer exist.

below: One of the older murals in Montreal, a graffiti granny, old woman by ASHOP Productions

mural of an older woman with hair in a bun, wearing glasses, and an apron,purple buildings in background on mural,  on a Montreal corner,

below: A mural by five8art, a young woman looking skyward.

large mural of a young woman with longhair, blue background, she's looking up

below: By a Depanneur at Pins and Hotel de Ville, a large mural of two seated women and their scarf by Australian artist Fintan Magee.

At the corner, beside a depanneur, a large mural of two seated women by Fintan Magee, one has blue and white checkered scarf over her face, the other has same scarf across the top of her head.
Close up of mural by Fintan Magee in Montreal, by small window in building, hands of women plus their blue and white scarves

below: A mural by Rone, another Australian artist.

close up of a large mural by Rone of a woman's face in shades of brown, on a brick wall in Montreal, street art

below: Sorry is Not Enough, a mural by Denial (or Enjoy Denial) with a shout out to Black Lives Matter

large mural in Montreal of a woman crying, eyes closed, white tears, red lipstick, by Denial, above her face are words Sorry is not enough

below: From 2018, this mural by Drew Merritt and Sainte Famille and Milton (photo taken in 2018 as well)

mural of a woman on a MOntreal wall painted by Drew Merritt

below: Street artist Nychos working on a mural

street artist nychos up on a lift and painting a large mural in Montreal as people walk by on the street

mural by nychos in Montreal

below: A tribute to Lea Roback (1903-2000), by Carlos Oliva (aka Hsix) in 2014. Roback was a textile worker who became a trade union activist, feminist and pacifist (among other things). She fought for woman’s suffrage in Quebec (1936), she played a role in helping to organize 5,000 garment workers who had been on a three-week strike in 1937, and that is only a small fraction of what she accomplished.

below: by Sandra Chevrier, pop culture references to Superman and Batman

below: A collaboration between Cyrielle Tremblay and Poni (aka Hilda Palafox, painted in 2018. Working in an imaginary garden maybe?

muraal on a brick wall, two women working outside.  One is planting a blue pine tree and the other is pouring water, ther is a cross on a red hill with other blue trees on it.

below: A whimsical black and white of women astronauts, guitar players, skate boarders, astronomers, and others. It is the work of Le Monstr, aka Benjamin Tran.

black and white mural of women doing a number of activites, also some sleeping cats, an astronaut among the planets, a shkateboarder, reading, playing guitar.  Mural in Montreal, by Le Monstr, a k a Benjamin Tran

below: A mural from 2014 putting a spotlight on the call for justice for missing and murdered indigenous women.

on the side of a book store in Montreal, a mural calling for justice for missing and murderedindigenous women, a woman sitting outside, with a blanket around her shoulders