The first mural created in part 3 of the City of Montréal’s Programme d’art mural, Chorégraphies cartographiques is composed of fifty brass polygons spread over three walls of the building that is home to the École de cirque de Verdun. It can be seen from the parking lot near the building and from the bike path along the river. Each mirror-polished brass plaque is a unique shape, and fifteen of them have a subtle river motif engraved on their surface. Over the years, the brass will be transformed from a reflective shine to a range of warm, matte natural colours.

“In the magic of darkness, the brick walls stand out as a ‘negative space’ that seems to lift the building and make it weightless. Because of these physical and metaphysical qualities, I see these long brick bands as spaces open to infinity; surfaces that may be interpreted in a formal or metaphoric way as if they were a great plane of sky, an interplay of silhouettes, or a graphical division.”
– Josée Dubeau

This mural was integrated into the outside walls of the École de cirque de Verdun when the former Guy-Gagnon arena was redeveloped and the Maison de la culture de Verdun, Le Quai 5160, was constructed. The luminous building, open to the river, was carefully reconfigured and expanded by Les Architectes FABG. Josée Dubeau’s Chorégraphies cartographiques was produced following a competition by public notice related to part 3 of the City of Montréal’s Programme d’art mural.