Awie is an international graffiti artist born and raised in Montreal, Canada. He started making a name for himself in the graffiti community by painting the streets of Montreal as a youth. Later, he joined hip-hop collective K6A, and begun to take on more challenging and elaborate projects. He took his work around the world, networking with other artists and creating murals in far away lands, with a mission to spread his art, inspire youth and beautify neighbourhoods. He now runs a Canadian non-for-profit initiative that focuses on youth empowerment through mural-based art workshops for at-risk youth groups across the globe. His flexible style is deeply rooted in traditional graffiti art, and blends with realism, portraiture and modern muralism. He is inspired by life, his travels, people and their stories, and often creates projects based on community issues, local heroes or celebrating the lives and stories of influential figures. He works primarily with aerosol on concrete.