This is the 18th edition of the Art Souterrain art festival at the end of April 2026. The festival, one of the city’s lesser-known events but one of the most heavily attended, adorns the long, empty corridors of the seemingly endless liminal spaces beneath the city of Montreal every year.
From April 25 to May 10, 2026, some twenty works will be on display in Montreal’s “underground city,” starting at Place Ville-Marie. The art festival is completely free and open to the public. All you have to do is find an access point to the tunnels beneath the city streets and take a stroll…
Art, artists, theunderground
The theme of this edition is duality, and the exhibition is curated by Ariane Plante, guest curator. Light and shadow, the natural and the artificial, the real and the virtual. For this,Montreal’s “underground city” is the perfect in-between space.
The works are displayedin transitional spaces—empty areaswhere people walk (to get from point A to point B) and rarely stop. With white lights, gray carpet on the floor, the echo of the subway passing nearby, and sometimes a ray of sunlight from outside that lets you know what time it is.
It isa liminal spacewhere the artworks are like a museum that appears out of nowhere—to be appreciated, to be studied, and as you pause in these tunnels and vast halls, you feel as though you are discovering a new space.
Practical Information
Where? In Montreal’s “underground city” / view the route here
When? April 25 to May 10, 2026
Saturday, April 25, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. – opening night, guided tours of the artworks, and artistic performances by Maurice Jones, Chadi Ayoub, Farzaneh and Mancy Rezaei, and Arcangelo Constantini / free admission, reservations here
Thursday, May 7, at 6 p.m.— an evening of artistic performances, featuring performances by Farzaneh and Mancy Rezaei, Soleil Launière, and Arcángelo Constantini / free admission, reservations here
Friday, May 8, from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM – Screening night in collaboration with MAFF, contemporary Korean art cinema and five Asian-Canadian short films /An Uninterrupted View of the Sea (2021) by Mika Yatsuhashi,Washed My Hands of It (2023) by Elmira Laki,Comme une fleuve (Như một dòng sông) (2021) by Sandra Desmazières,Hitting the Noodles(2024) by Shelly Seo Bahng, andIn The Blood (2025) by Nungshimeren Longkumer / free admission, reservations here
