Mural by En Masse

This work brings together a narrative vocabulary and a figurative approach. Its value does not come from applying decoration to architecture: the mural gains meaning through its scale, its surface and the way it is encountered in a real place.

Founded in 2009 · Neighborhood: Le Plateau-Mont-Royal / Old Montreal EN MASSE does not merely create collective artworks; it creates the conditions for them to exist. Since its inception in 2009, this Montreal-based project has transformed collaboration into a genuine artistic discipline. Challenging the traditional image of the solitary artist, EN MASSE champions a simple yet ambitious idea: some works become more powerful when created together. Wall after wall, city after city, the collective has demonstrated that a multitude of voices can produce a cohesive vision without sacrificing individual uniqueness. "Cooperation, not compromise." The journey began when Jason Botkin and Tim Barnard—friends since their days at the Alberta College of Art and Design—decided to explore the possibilities of large-scale collaborative drawing. In 2009, they took over Galerie Pangée in Montreal for a groundbreaking experiment: over thirty days, twenty-eight artists from diverse disciplines—including fine arts, comics, illustration, and graffiti—worked side-by-side on a massive collective composition. The event culminated during Nuit Blanche, instantly revealing the project's potential. What was intended as a one-off experiment quickly evolved into a full-fledged artistic movement. The visual signature of EN MASSE relies on a choice that is as simple as it is effective: black and white. This self-imposed constraint allows artists with vastly different styles to coexist within a single work without losing their individual identities. Each participant contributes their own universe, characters, and imagery, which intertwine with those of the others. The result evokes a vast, drawn conversation where the boundaries between creators gradually blur in favor of a shared creation. Over the years, the project has expanded far beyond Montreal. Hundreds of artists have participated in its creations, both in Canada and internationally. EN MASSE has taken over spaces ranging from art galleries and cultural institutions to public areas and urban walls. Among his notable achievements is his participation in the *Big Bang! Carte blanche à la créativité* exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, where several thousand square feet were transformed into a vast, collective graphic universe. The project also produced permanent public artworks that demonstrate his ability to unite artists, citizens, and institutions around a shared vision. Now led by Jason Botkin and Rupert Bottenberg, EN MASSE remains one of the most influential collaborative art projects to emerge from Montreal. More than just a collective, it embodies a creative philosophy rooted in sharing, trust, and collective intelligence. In an era that often prizes individual performance, EN MASSE serves as a reminder that some of the most memorable works are born when many hands draw together.

En Masse, whose practice is connected with Montreal, develops a visual world that can be followed from one wall to another. Captions and archives connected to this body of work document several mural interventions. These points of reference place the image within a practice rather than treating it as an isolated visual.