Mural to René Lévesque to be created on government building next to Metropolitan Expressway

Artist Kevin Ledo will produce the mural, which will include Lévesque’s image and a quote about the Charter of the French Language.

A man on a cherrypicker uses a pole to paint on a brick wall high up in the air — Artist Kevin Ledo works on a mural of Leonard Cohen on a building wall at St-Dominique St. in 2017. Ledo has been tasked with doing a mural to René Lévesque on a building next to the Metropolitan Expressway.Photo by Dave Sidaway /Montreal Gazette files

René Lévesque once predicted Quebec would have a rendezvous with history. This summer, Montrealers will have a rendezvous with a mural tribute to the former Quebec premier.

Artist Kevin Ledo will paint the mural on a building belonging to the Société québécoise des infrastructures located on Crémazie Blvd. E., near Gaspé Ave. in Villeray. Once completed, it will be visible to motorists traveling on the Metropolitan Expressway.

A four-storey building with a large blank wall next to an elevated highway — A wall on a building at 190 Crémazie Blvd. E., on which a mural of René Lévesque will be painted this summer.Photo by Google Street View

The mural will show the portrait of Lévesque, premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985, as well as a quote recalling the adoption of the Charter of the French Language in 1977.

Ledo is behind other public works in Montreal, including murals of Yvonne Maisonneuve and Daisy Peterson Sweeney and the Leonard Cohen mural in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. In a statement, he stressed that his objective will be to “transmit the role of René Lévesque as a visionary leader who defended and promoted a strong Quebec identity.”

The official inauguration is expected to take place around Lévesque’s 102nd birthday, which is Aug. 24.

The René-Lévesque Foundation wants to eventually deploy other murals in tribute to him elsewhere in Quebec, each one recalling a significant moment in his political career.

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