On the walls: the art you need to see this week

“Plan fixe tiré d’une animation,” from Espejo Negro

Festival Mode & Design takes over a vast swath of Montreal’s downtown this weekend. Mall-chain retailers and Montreal indie labels alike present their new collections on the catwalk, and the area is crammed with pop-up boutiques, sidewalk stalls and some of the city’s most stylish peeps.

On the artsier side, don’t miss the chance to catch a free exhibition of sketches and photos from chic pop-art designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (JC/DC), on display through Aug. 30 in Place Ville Marie’s Hall Nord. The festival also features its annual INBOX Design series, where visual artists and industrial designers are invited to create an installation in containers. This year’s theme is gaming, directed by Royal Bandit’s Julien Vallée and Eve Duhamel. INBOX also features furniture design pieces by Simon John, Six Point Un, Mitz Takahashi, Zoë Mowat and Felix Guyon for La Firme Design. To Aug. 3, McGill College between de Maisonneuve and Place Ville-Marie, 11 a.m.–8 p.m.

Les Territoires exhibits Espejo Negro, works by the six artists participating in its Creation workshop series, which bring together five emerging artists and one more established international artist to produce collective work. This second edition of the workshop features Mexican multimedia artist Alejandro Garcia Contreras, who uses a host of media to create dreamy pieces that toy with themes of Chiapas folklore. He is joined by Ben Clarkson, Isabelle Guimond, Mat O’Hara, Naghmeh Sharifi and Chris Simonite. Simonite will also perform as his alter ego, Stan Dickie, at the vernissage. Aug. 3, Belgo Building (372 Ste-Catherine W.), #527, 3 p.m.

Fans of the Juxtapoz/low-brow/street/pop surrealist scene should check out New Brow, an art show and documentary on the genre. Check out our interview with director Jono Doiron here. Aug. 2, Cinéma du Parc (3575 Parc), 5:30 p.m., $12.45

French-language DÉCOVER visual arts magazine launches its 21st issue this week, which as usual features images by 12 featured artists, including Labrona, Michel de Broin, Dominique Fortin and Nicolas Ruel, among others. Launch party Tuesday, Aug. 6, Station 16 (3523 St-Laurent), 5 p.m.–1 a.m., $10 with copy

Wednesday, Aug. 7, the 12th edition of Beaux Dégats art mash-up goes down at Foufs, with six teams competing in a live art battle, set to music by DJs Construct, MayDay and Famelik. Foufounes Électriques (87 Ste-Catherine E.), 7 p.m.–12 a.m. ■