Montreal’s BIXI bikes unveil a rolling gallery project
Posted June 9, 2026 11:13 am.
Last Updated June 9, 2026 3:40 pm.
Montreal’s bike-share network got a makeover Tuesday morning, as BIXI and Loto-Québec revealed a fleet of bicycles transformed into rolling works of art in a new project called Art in Motion.
The collaboration brings together Montreal’s public bike-share service and the provincial lottery corporation, which has long maintained an art collection as part of its cultural mandate. The decorated bikes are set to circulate across the city’s streets this summer.
Beyond transforming public transit into rolling art, the initiative includes a massive summer-long treasure hunt for commuters. Bikers who unlock one of these 16 bikes will have the chance to win a prize.
“They can enter the promotion and try to win the prize of $2,500 to buy an art piece. So this will be all summer long for all people finding the BIXI in Montreal, and there is also one in Sherbrooke,” explained Marie-Claudel Lalonde from Loto-Québec.
Singer and art enthusiast Pierre Lapointe, who contributed to the Loto-Québec Collection was present for the unveiling, alongside the project’s artists.
“The interesting thing about it is that the fact that there are only 16 bikes is rare,” said Lapointe. “So, you have to find a little bit like Pokémon-Go. You have to find the special edition BIXI to do a ride on the special, magic BIXI.”
Transforming a standard commuter bike into a moving gallery requires an adaptable artistic approach.
“I have a relatively small studio space and so the bikes were falling over from each other and paint spilling, but I was kind of incorporating all of that into it and then tying them into one another,” said collaborating artist Trevor Kiernander. “One of the buckets of paint fell and fell on one of the bikes and then I hung it over another bike and let that drip onto the second bike.”
Organizers say the initiative marks a new milestone in BIXI’s evolution that aims to reframe the commuting experience as more than a way to get from point A to B.
The artist-designed bikes will be available through the regular BIXI network, meaning riders may find these one-of-a-kind bikes scattered around the thousand BIXI stations in the Greater Montreal area.
