Milkbox [Montreal]
Kayla Buium, the street artist known as Milkbox, is an illustrator, muralist and sponsored roller skater based in Montreal. She uses bright colours and rubbery characters to spread positive and humorous messages about queerness, self-acceptance, and inclusivity. Milkbox uses narrative in her work to translate real life themes into visual stories. She loves to collaborate with brands and communities to bring big ideas to life. Whether it’s skating or making art, the driving force behind Milkbox’s work is to bring people together, spread knowledge, and uplift important community members.
In 2023 she was selected by BUMP Festival, CMLC & Cirque Du Soleil to design and paint the 2023 KOOZA mural in Calgary, Alberta titled ‘Pandora’s Snail’. You can read more about this special project here.
You can watch Milkbox’s Artist Highlight here.
Mural Title
“Pandora's Snail”
Mural Statement
Sitting on the East wall of 210 15 Ave SE, Pandora’s Snail is a magnificent ode to the circus artform, the magic of storytelling and Cirque Du Soleil’s celebrated production KOOZA. This 2023 BUMP Festival mural was brought to life in the @cedistrictyyc thanks to a collaboration with Cirque Du Soleil and CMLC.
A mural that took 14 days to paint, Pandora’s Snail looks like a page from a timeless storybook you could get lost in. Rich blues and pink adorn the cerebral clowns on Kayla’s canvas, between whom sits an ancient snail. What secret’s loom inside this snail? What stories do these characters bring to the Beltline? Inspired by the Cirque du soleil show KOOZA, Kayla says “The mural is about two curious but mischievous clowns about to open Pandora’s snail to release chaos onto the world. The snail is a slow moving creature making it easy to catch and open with the key. The mural uses costumes and motifs from KOOZA to tell a brand new story created by MILKBOX.”