Hanging out in parks

Accompanied by my seven-year-old park expert, I headed down to Viger Square to see Jean-Maxime Dufresne and Virginie Laganière's project Hot Spots. The duo has been frequenting various parks and summer events around Montreal on two bicycles equipped with recording and playback devices. Fireworks, frisbees and old-time dance moves were captured by the roving pair and can be seen on individual handheld monitors procured from Dare-dare (corner Berri and Viger).

The seven-year-old liked the pink visor that she got to wear to watch the footage, but found the videos "too boring." Personally, the best part of watching the relaxed documentation was spending time in Viger Square. What an amazing space artist Charles Daudelin designed, with all its nooks and crannies, overhanging vines and fountains. Unfortunately, the City of Montreal has been letting it go to seed with renovation somewhere in the pipes. Spend some time in it while you can. Audio-video strolls continue until Sept. 9. The public is also invited to a bicycle excursion on Sunday Sept. 4, 1 p.m. start from Viger Square. Info: 878-1088. » Christine Redfern

Unnatural vistas

Le Mois de la Photo, which officially begins on Sept. 10, actually kicks off a little early tonight at Art Mûr (5826 St-Hubert). Holly King presents The Transcendent Sublime, a group of photographs that continue her process of photographing constructed maquettes that result in fantastical landscapes. These pictures hover somewhere at the crossroads of painting, surrealism and reality. King makes plastic and watercolour paint look like water and sky, and turns the world upside-down when roots convincingly become trees.

Meanwhile, David Hlynsky's Rosebud pairs two separate bodies of his work. His photographs from the series "The Wilderness Camp" are eye-catching, sepia-toned images of people and staged nature scenes that give off a slightly twisted vibe. His other series, "New Xanadu," explores the white-walled environment of international business. The resulting pictures look more like the painted surface found in an Alex Colville painting than a photograph. Opening tonight, Aug. 25, 5–8 p.m.; both exhibitions run until Oct. 1. » Christine Redfern

Outside art

Street art is back at Main Madness this weekend, care of Recognize, Drop and Kops, who, last year, raised $2,500 for children's rights charity War Child and this year are going for bigger. Artists, including HVW8, Dorota, Labrona, Other and many others take to Parc des Amériques (corner Rachel and St-Laurent), where they'll paint live on 4-by-4-foot canvases from Aug. 25–28. Raffle tickets ($3–$5) are sold throughout the four days, with a draw on Sunday at 3 p.m., at which point there'll also be a silent auction for donated paintings. Other works by the artists will be on display, T-shirts and pins will be sold, and it's just gonna be a crazy good time so make sure to take a break from the chow mein and check it out. » Matthew Woodley

Siren stories

In 2003, NYC-based songstress Athena Reich co-founded sirenswildride, an international touring collective of female performing artists. "It's a tough business out there, and it makes sense to get together under one name and share resources and help each other out," she explains. Reich is currently on a three-month North American wildride with fellow siren, slow-burning folkie Addie Brownlee. "I try to push the envelope a bit and tell silenced stories, stories that are hard to tell," says Reich. Hear the sirens at Pharmacie Esperanza (5490 St-Laurent) along with Luna Allison's spiky, supple spoken word, and Sherwin Tjia's one-sentence stories ("It's quite a popular form. It's becoming the iPod of poetry," he informs), Friday, Aug. 26, 8:30 p.m. $5. » Vincent Tinguely

Is it Art?

$5 ALIVE: One of the joys of the still-in-circulation Canadian $5 bill that preceded the current version was the striking resemblance that Sir Wilfred Laurier, after pencilling in the right hairdo and certain Vulcan features, bears to Mr. Spock. While Laurier's latest look doesn't allow for such easy illegal cross-species defacing fun, you're more likely to find a Where's Willy stamp on them. Since 2001, www.whereswilly.com has served as a diary of sorts in the life of a fiver, trading hands across this glorious land and beyond. Found a stamped bill? Simply log on, enter the bill's serial number, your postal code and info about where you found the bill. Then, go spend it somewhere and check back on the site a little later to find out where your money really goes.

ArtsHole

DO NOTE: Art-on-film fans will be happy to know that Chris Hinton's animation opus cNote, set to the classical sounds of Montreal-based composer Michael Oesterle, screens at the World Film Festival, Aug 30, 9 a.m., at Cinéma Imperial, 9:30 p.m. at Théâtre Maisonneuve, and on Aug. 31, 2 p.m., at Cinéma Imperial. • UNDER AFRICAN EYES: Macaulay Eteli's catchy contemporary African art comes off the walls at Salon Daomé (141 Mont-Royal E.) this weekend, but not without a big closing bash on Friday, Aug. 26, at 10 p.m. Sample's of Eteli's work can be seen at www.eteliart.ca.

ARTISTAT: Approximate number of years ago it will feel like at the Musée Pointe-à-Callière's 18th-Century Public Market, an old-time outdoor bonanza that evokes the daily realities of the first colonial Montrealers, with historical food, drink, music and pretend soldiers punishing miscreants, Aug. 27–28, 10 a.m. on (350 Place-Royale): 300

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