One of Montreal’s riches is undeniably its large pool of artists. Comedians, filmmakers, designers, musicians... The realities that hide behind each one’s day-to-day are now diverse.
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There is that of the creator, before all else. He advances step by step, as his projects move forward. This passionate individual dedicates most of his time to his work, with integrity. This often brings him, despite himself, to feel isolated, sometimes dependant on public subsidies, and as though he is lacking the necessary resources to continue on.
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Today, the growing interest in the notion of “artist-entrepreneur” presents a great number of opportunities. This person wears many hats: the one of the creator but also the one of the manager or perhaps the salesman. He devotes a large amount of time, up until now dedicated to creation, to the development of his activity. He integrates his projects in a long-term vision and business plan.
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But for many, he remains a stranger and can even scare! Nonetheless, are these two visions incompatible? On the contrary, wouldn’t integrating entrepreneurial codes reaffirm one’s independence and mission as an artist? Could the link between creators and entrepreneurs be stronger than it seems?
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In the context of this panel moderated by David Moss, cultural and creative entrepreneurs and artists are invited to discuss their thoughts on the matter.
David Moss has over 20 years of experience leading major arts and cultural institutions and initiatives.
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He was the Executive Director of the Saidye Bronfman Centre for the Arts (1996 – 2003), General Director of l’Opéra de Montréal (2003 – 2006) and Founding Executive Director of Culture Days (2007 – 2017).
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In addition to his professional leadership roles, David has also been active throughout his career as an advisor and consultant to governments, corporations, philanthropists and cultural organizations in Montréal and across Canada. He has served on many boards and committees including as a founding Board member of Culture Montréal, a member of the advisory group for Montréal’s first cultural policy in 2002, and Chair of the Board of MUTEK.
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Since January 2018, he's Co-Executive of the la Piscine. He leads the development of the accelerator and its emblematic Rodier project, Montréal’s first-ever site dedicated to cultural and creative entrepreneurship.
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David is passionate about affirming the role of artists in society and the nexus between cultural development, Community and entrepreneurship.
Christophe Billebaud has worked for 25 years in Strategy Consulting and Business and Regional Development. In 2009, after a career in consulting and as a Development Specialist for international SMEs, he became Chief Executive of Montréal Couture, a non-profit organization dedicated to the fashion industry. He initiated the first experimentations of collaborative innovation between fashion professionals and consumers. It aimed to validate the bases for a Living Lab and to demonstrate that this process is the key to find imaginative solutions and initiate new business models.
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In 2012, Christophe joined Umvelt Service Design as a Partner and Expert in Business Strategies, Codesign and Collaborative processes.
Today, he is Chief Experience Officer of Rhizome, an innovation agency. He assists public and private organizations in structuring and developing their own innovation ecosystem. He is also Co-Executive Director of La Piscine, the Montréal accelerator dedicated to cultural and creative entrepreneurs, in charge of Programs and Services.
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He has a M.B.A. degree in International Management and an Engineering Degree in chemical processes.
Founder and artistic director of Human Playground, a creative platform combining choreographic art and urban event design.
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On the art scene, Milan works as a choreographer anchoring her approach in the public space. Invested in a desire to play on modes and grounds beyond norms, she uses the city as a stage and canvas for camping performances and installations. Sensitive to urban social reality, her creations Auto-Fiction, trio for humans and cars, Intersection, social fable at the junction of dance and parkour, Parking, ambulatory in the city and Sidewalk, choreographic installation wear social, environmental and collective issues and invite participation and communication.
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In addition to her artistic work, she fulfills mandates for a varied clientele seeking the experience of creative communication on a human scale. She has been invited to collaborate with C2Mtl, Nomad Industries, Moment Factory, Momento Event and Cirque Éloise.
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The double bachelor's degree (Multimedia Communications & Contemporary Dance) recently graduated from Dess in Event Design at UQÀM.
Martin Choquette has been Executive Director of CJE Montréal Centre-Ville since 2014, where he has been working on developing emerging and sustainable cultural-sector business models.
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He is concerned by innovative cultural enterprises that use new technologies to create conditions conducive to the development of artists and cultural organizations. More recently, he has developed several training courses on business innovation in the arts, including the Union des artistes Toolkit and Le Rucher – Foisonnement entrepreneurial. Martin is currently researching the interdisciplinarity and intertwining of immersive performing arts, performance art and creative technologies. He was co-artistic director of the Ensemble Sauvage Public theatre company, which presented its works internationally, UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of the Arts.
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He founded and co-chaired Diversité artistique Montréal (DAM). He also sits on the boards of Ateliers Créatifs de Montréal and Conseil de l’Économie Social de Montréal.
After studying 2 years in architecture in Lima, Peru, Gonzalo Soldi arrives to Montreal to begin his career as a circus artist. He begins in the livings arts as an acrobat and juggler what take him to Avignon and Aurillac festivals in 2015.
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As an artist, he gets very interested in technology and how the visual support can be part of a dramaturgy. In 2008, he joins Cavalia as head of video where he developed his technological skills touring around the globe. Between 2011 and 2014 he studies theatre production at the National Theatre School of Canada where he produces video, lighting and sound design for theatre performances.
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During his studies, he collaborate many times with Thomas Payette with whom he found with HUB a multimedia creation studio specialized in visual design for live arts, installations and architecture.