Our story and vision
Art should be
something you do.
How a spin table in Washington became Montréal’s experimental art studio, what 30,000 guests taught us, and where it goes next.
How it came to Montréal
The idea didn’t begin with a plan to open an art studio. A friend and business partner from the Conundrum group in Washington had opened an early version of ArtChaos in the United States. One afternoon there was enough to feel it: spin art itself wasn’t new, but the way it was being used was. It was physical, colourful and loud with laughter, and it produced something people could actually carry home.
There was also nothing quite like it in Montréal, and that bothered us in the best way. Bringing it here took almost two years, mostly because finding the right space, a room with the right light and room for a bar, was far harder than anyone expected.
During that time the original studio became a laboratory, and we loved it for that. Some ideas worked. Others didn’t. The painting tables changed. The process changed. The techniques got better with every session.
Fewer colours, on purpose
One lesson was surprisingly simple: more paint colours weren’t necessarily better. Give somebody too many choices and the first ten minutes become a negotiation with a wall of bottles, instead of the moment when a hand finally reaches for one and pours.
For Montréal, artist Egor Golopolosov helped us develop a tighter colour palette that guests could use directly or mix themselves. Colours that love each other, with just enough room left to experiment and surprise yourself.
“I didn’t know this would be so easy — and it actually looks cool.”
What people say on the way out, which is basically why ArtChaos exists.
30,000 people later
ArtChaos Montréal finally opened its doors in January 2024. Since then, more than 30,000 people have walked in, and the studio has hosted more than 100 group events, each one louder than we had planned.
What surprised us most wasn’t any particular kind of painting. It was how wide the room became. Couples came on dates. Parents came with children and ended up enjoying it just as much themselves. Companies brought teams. People celebrated birthdays, and sometimes the whole room sang.
And people who began the session by swearing they were terrible at art walked out, again and again, carrying something they were genuinely, visibly proud of.
On the way out
All the reviews on GoogleI had never painted anything before and this was an amazing experience and lots of fun. I definitely recommend it.
Jeanne and Sapphire were so cool and gave us the greatest experience ever. This is paint n sip taken to a whole new level.
Very fun! Staff were super helpful and awesome!
We had our girls night here and what an amazing time! So unique and fun. Let your imagination run wild! Highly recommend!
Excellent experience. Staff was helpful, enthusiastic, and accommodating. Our family had a really special outing and created some memories and art that will last a lifetime.
So much fun! Really cute spot, my 5 YO and I had the best time. Easy to do, cute paintings and great drinks. The staff is super nice and welcoming.
What ArtChaos is for
That became the clearest explanation of what ArtChaos was actually for. Not teaching people to become painters. Giving people a warm, accessible way to make something with their own hands, together, and to feel good doing it.
The bar is part of the studio for the same reason. ArtChaos was never meant to feel like an art class. People move around, talk, order a drink and look at what the next table is making. When the paintings are finished, they go through the drying oven, about fifteen to twenty minutes, and then they go home with the person who made them. That day. Still a little warm.
Part of a larger Montréal story
ArtChaos is part of the same family as A/Maze Escape Game, Rage Axe Throwing and Brasserie Memento. They look like very different businesses. The heart behind them is the same: places built around shared experiences. Not just somewhere to consume something, but somewhere the people you came with become part of what happens, and part of what you remember.
An escape game does it through puzzles. Rage does it through axe throwing. Memento does it around beer, games and food. ArtChaos does it with paint on your hands and music in the room.
Why we want to grow
ArtChaos was never designed around the idea that you need to be an artist. That is one reason the concept can work in many cities: the customer isn’t a small circle of people who already paint. It is couples looking for something to do on a Thursday night, families, birthdays, groups of friends and companies organising events.
After more than 30,000 guests in Montréal, we know far more about how to make that experience work than we did on opening day. The tables have changed. The paint process has changed. The way techniques are taught has changed. We have learned how people move through the studio, where they need a hand and where it is better to leave them alone.
We plan to open more locations ourselves, and the longer-term dream is 15 to 20 across Canada. For that, strong local operators matter, because the operator is the experience: the team needs to be welcoming, the studio needs to look right, group events need to run smoothly, and the Art Masters need to know when a guest needs help and when they simply need another five minutes with the canvas. The core experience should stay the same everywhere. The personality of each location does not have to.
ArtChaos, in one paragraph
ArtChaos is a spin art and painting studio with a bar, at 31 Saint-Viateur Est in Mile End, Montréal. It opened in January 2024 and is part of the A/Maze group. A session is 60 minutes: a practice canvas, then a final one, with an Art Master at the station and everything supplied. Children paint at a child price, groups of 12 to 50 book the room, and the birthday person paints free.
Franchising
Bring ArtChaos
to your city.
Interested in opening an ArtChaos studio? Introduce yourself, your market and your experience. We would love to learn more about the opportunity.
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In a hurry? Call the studio on 514 316-5208.
The studio, in pieces
Same room.
Never the same hour.
Tap a picture to see it whole.
Try the digital version
Spin one
in your browser.
Pour while it is still, then bring up the spin and watch the paint pull outward, curve and split. Same idea as the tables, without the apron.
Ready when you are