Last June, hundreds of artists from around the world converged on Montreal to take part in the tenth edition of the Mural Festival. This high mass of urban art, celebrated on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, has become a must over the years, not only for its impact on the city, but also for its influence with the international artistic community.
In the era of globalization, especially in the current post-pandemic context, artists from all disciplines benefit from opening their horizons by aiming for the international market. Whether it’s to take part in a festival or a residence, to familiarize yourself with a new trend, to discover an emerging medium or to forge new alliances, business trips – because it’s all about business! – allow them to live unique experiences and reach new audiences.
This is precisely the mission that the Mural Festival, founded in 2012, has given itself to raise public awareness of urban art. The event, which is spread over eleven busy days, offers a wonderful showcase for muralists from here and elsewhere. Year after year, their works, custom-made according to the places to be dressed, embellish the urban landscape of Montreal to the delight of citizens and art-loving tourists.
Give wings to artists
How can creators, who are not necessarily wealthy and who are not all lucky enough to have patrons, concretely jump on a plane and finance their participation in international events? This is where a sponsor like Air Canada for business comes into play, which invests in the international development of local SMEs and creators. “We have been proudly supporting the Montreal Mural Festival for five years now, notably by acting as the artists’ official air carrier,” says Rachel Machalani, manager, digital strategies and customer engagement at the air carrier, who has herself evolved for years in the field of art, notably as the founder of the magazine Decompoz.
“Among the many talented muralists who have benefited from the support of Air Canada for Business for the 2022 edition of the festival, let us mention two young artists well launched on their international trajectory, Maria Qamar and Mando Marie, who have made the subject of videos that we have co-produced with the Mural Festival, continues Ms. Machalani. At the local level, we notably collaborated with the artist Danaé Brissonnet, who created a spectacular mural adorning an entire building on Saint-Laurent Boulevard. »
An opening into the world
The last Mural Festival clearly demonstrates that business trips are not only used to participate in conferences or meetings, to negotiate contracts and to conclude international agreements. Even if all this is essential, the stereotype of corporate business travel reserved for entrepreneurs and industrialists in business suits or tie suits is outdated.
More than ever, traveling abroad makes it possible to forge authentic ties, to become familiar with local cultures, to immerse oneself in new environments and, above all, to open up one’s perspectives. To put in place good growth strategies and to ensure that they have a clear vision of their objectives and the path to take to achieve them, executives, just like creators and artists, must know how to ask themselves, refocus and take a step back to better prepare for the years to come.
In addition, numerous studies have shown that the cogs of imagination and creativity – regardless of one’s sector of professional activity – are set in motion when one changes environment, particularly when staying abroad. Thus, according to Professor Adam Galinsky of the Columbia Business School, who has studied the question, immersion in a new culture, new customs and a new language opens up the horizons of travelers and generates a feeling of well-being. be. A favorable state, according to him, for the emergence of new ideas. He further argues that experiences abroad have a positive effect on cognitive agility, which translates into the ability to weave new connections between disparate concepts.
The time factor is also important: in the age of videoconferencing, the impersonal journey to close a deal in a conference room is a thing of the past. These days, the trips that matter – both within the country and across borders – serve above all to take the time to really get to know your partners, your customers and their reality. This is an essential step in laying the foundations for a new partnership, consolidating one’s achievements and working together to deploy and bring to fruition projects, whether you are an artist or an entrepreneur!
MARIA QAMAR, HATE COPY
At the crossroads
“My works are influenced by my roots, as well as many other cultures. Living in Toronto, one of the most multicultural cities in the world, inspires me a lot. »
Maria Qamar’s story is like that of many immigrants: from a traditional South Asian family – her mother is Indian, her father Bangladeshi – she arrived in Canada in 2001, at the age of nine. The traces left by the events of September 11 confronted her for years with racism and intimidation.
This experience and subsequent quest for identity as an immigrant and visible minority in North America fuels Maria Qamar’s impactful art, which is rooted in the comic book tradition – a style that has obsessed her since childhood. – and which evokes both the heroines of Bollywood and the work of Roy Lichtenstein. The artist’s career officially started on Instagram in 2018, when she decided to publish her illustrations on the @hatecopy account. Success was not long in coming, and his powerful images of seductive women, painted in vibrant colors and engaged in ironic and very current dialogues, are today admired by hundreds of thousands of fans.
The themes frequently addressed by Maria Qamar, namely feminism, social change and the thirst for freedom, are both personal and universal. “These serious subjects are presented with lightness, but they carry a message. The multimedia artist, who expresses herself through painting, digital and mural art, was delighted to be in Montreal for the festival. “Travel gives me great freedom as an artist, and it allows me to connect with people all over the world. All thanks to my art! »
MANDO MARIE, SEEYOUTHROUGHIT
The nomadic spirit
“My work allows me to express what is in me, like a moment that I lived, something that made me happy or saddened me. It manifests in images that somehow reveal my subconscious. »
Amanda Marie, better known as Mando Marie and the signature Seeyouthroughit she uses for her murals and her Instagram account, is internationally recognized for her graphic and dreamlike creations. Inspired by the great classics of children’s literature, they portray children and adolescents carrying subtle, sometimes strange, even disturbing messages, which have the power to give shivers. “I don’t want to scare people, I just hope that my art will allow them to feel things. »
The artist with a unique style, who often uses twin images, mirror effects and repeating patterns, mixes traditional painting, collage and stencil to create works imbued with nostalgia. “The stencil, a tool that I create and manipulate as I please, allows me to obtain an image that is completely different from the one that was my starting point. His works, which live both in small format in galleries and in oversized versions in the form of murals, are appreciated in the sphere of fine arts as well as in the world of urban art.
Of American origin, Mando Marie, who has exhibited all over the United States and Europe, landed in turn in Colorado, the Netherlands and, more recently, in Portugal, where she established her studio. . For the moment ! Because this artist with a nomadic spirit travels the world to find inspiration and feed her imagination. “Travelling, which allows me to discover new cities and meet new people, gives me great freedom as an artist,” comments the one who took a trip to Montreal last June.
DANAE BRISSONNET
An international influence
From India to Taiwan, via Puerto Rico, Morocco, the Ivory Coast and Mali, the Quebecer stands out with the murals, puppets and masks from her unbridled imagination. A committed artist, she creates imaginary universes firmly anchored in the concrete. Her approach: to become deeply involved with communities from here and elsewhere, with whom she collaborates to immerse herself in their history and culture. Particularly challenged by children, especially in countries torn by conflict, she supports them with her imagination to help them tell their story and weave their narrative weft with the means at hand. One thing is certain: the works of this globe-trotter, joyful and colorful, leave their mark wherever she goes.
GROWING WITH AIR CANADA FOR BUSINESS
Air Canada for Business is a free program designed to help small and medium-sized businesses save money on flights, earn rewards and take advantage of exclusive offers every time they fly with Air Canada or one of its eligible operating partners. The program is currently offered to companies in Canada and the United States; no minimum spend or commitment threshold required.
This content was produced by Le Devoir’s special publications team in collaboration with the advertiser. Le Devoir’s editorial team had no role in the production of this content.
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