A’Shop: First NDG, then the world for this Montreal graffiti art collective

A group of artists rooted in graffiti culture band together and decide they want to earn a living doing what they love most. Contentious in the community? You bet. Unheard of? Not anymore. "I started painting with a generation of graffiti writers that didn't believe you could make money off graffiti," recalls Fluke, founder of the one-year old A'Shop Creative Studios, while taking a breather from winter renovations to expand his studio space. "The idea of getting paid to do graffiti was not present back then. And the few who tried to do it in the city failed."

But as the Lasalle-raised Fluke graduated from alleyway tagging to intricate mural work, graffiti as a whole very conspicuously infiltrated the mainstream, with the milieu now cultivating its own A-list star system (Banksy! Shepard Fairey! Swoon! Blu!), as the market for street art keeps expanding. Fluke, who's honest about cutting his teeth in the trade doing kids' bedrooms and "other things we're not necessarily proud of" to make ends meet, can hold his head up high, one year into his business venture. Along with four other graffiti artists, all ranging in age from 27 to 33, Fluke has put A'Shop on the map with a steady stream of corporate and non-profit commissions — a Bad News Brown tribute wall, the inaugural Can You Rock summer art bash (which attracted overseas graffiti glitterati like Cope2), and work with Smirnoff, Osheaga, Volkswagen, and a slew of others. 

Bad News Brown tribute wall

Can You Rock art bash

And nothing sent bloggers abuzz and millions of street art fiends tweaking quite like A'Shop's stunning five-story NDG mural, Our Lady of Grace, a behemoth undertaking — 16 work days, 500 cans of paint, 50 colours — featuring a towering, goddess-like Madonna figure watching over the neighbourhood. The aim, Fluke says, was to "shake up" city hall, and prompt other boroughs with a track record for cold feet to soften their hard-nosed stance on graffiti. "We got the city to acknowledge our existence, and that us five guys with no academic background are fucking serious about what we do," explains Fluke.

Our Lady of Grace

EXIT THROUGH THE A'SHOP
Getting the city's endorsement in one thing, but keeping it real in the community — while running a graffiti business — is another. When I broach the ever-nagging issue of street artists averse to promoting corporate interests, Fluke isn't fazed at all. "Depending on the day, or how I feel, I'll answer that question differently," he quips. "Everybody sells out, just to a different degree. And I think that degree, that comfort zone, is different for every artist. Let's say I was a gallery owner buying graffiti art for really cheap, and reselling it, then I'd be selling out the culture, because I'd just be trying to make a nickel and a dime off the backs of these artists, whereas we're selling our own stuff. We're a bunch of graffiti artists who got together and said, if someone's going to represent us, fuck it, let it be us."

 
A'Shop commissions: Custom chair and Cirque Éloïze costume

Fluke insists that A'Shop is blessed with broad support in Montreal's graffiti writing culture, and he'll be the first to point out that the store's commissioned work should never be confused with graffiti. "Just think of a tattoo shop: we want people to come in here and experience a bunch of creative people who'll execute their cool ideas. You want your car painted? Your retro chair customized? You can hire a graffiti artist. We're bringing that spirit of community back, which we don't find very much in the street anymore… That crew, that family."

A'Shop Creative Studios
3081 Ontario East, Studio #001
ashop.ca