Épisode 37 - Spécial Murales avec Dee Barsy, Meky Ottawa et Elizabeth Ann Doyle

Rue Atateken

This week we welcome Dee Barsy, Meky Ottawa and Elizabeth-Ann Doyle. Dee Barsy (Ojibwe) is an emerging visual artist and a member of Skownan First Nation, Manitoba (Treaty 2). Barsy was raised on Treaty 1 territory: the original lands of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation. She is currently enrolled as a graduate student at Concordia University, living and working on the unceded Indigenous lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, Quebec. Barsy graduated with a BFA from the University of Manitoba. In September 2017, Dee was commissioned to create artworks for the INSURGENCE/RESURGENCE exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. The exhibition featured the work of 29 emerging to established contemporary Indigenous artists from across Canada. Barsy had her first solo exhibition at Urban Shaman Contemporary Aboriginal Art Gallery in September 2019. There, she transformed the gallery space, floor to wall, with a mural featuring abstract representations of various local insects and spiders painted on top of her signature rhythmic lines and blue background. Her artwork is included in the Global Affairs Visual Art Collection, the Manitoba Museum collection, the Winnipeg Art Gallery collection and many private collections. Atikamekw multidisciplinary artist from Manawan, Meky Ottawa comes from a family of resistants and cultural keepers. She earns her living by drawing things she loves. This committed artist is inspired by life. She loves pink and listens to a lot of music in her spare time. Her culture and origins are reflected in her art where she combines the modern and the traditional. Holder of a Master’s degree in History and more than 15 years’ experience working with cultural companies, Elizabeth-Ann has brought together her personal and her professional interests by co-founding MU. Her career began at Place des Arts where she gained appreciation and a passion for the cultural milieu and the international spectrum of shows. Six years at the Fine Arts Museum of Montreal allowed her to expand her interest and knowledge of the visual arts medium. She then left Quebec to tour with Cirque du Soleil throughout the United States as an integral member of the Public Relations team. During a stay in Philadelphia with Cirque du Soleil, she was exposed to the wall mural phenomenon (Mural Arts Program) and its impact on the art, economic and social development of the city. She felt that Montreal deserved a similar project. The spark was lit but it was several years later before MU became a reality. During those years, she spent some time in the conception and the production of special events (mostly for the Cirque du Soleil, in addition to other prestigious clients such as Philip Morris and Cap Gemini). She produced large-scale events in Montreal and throughout the Unite d States (New York, Chicago, Los Angeles) as well as in Paris, London, Milan, St-Petersburg and Moscow. In 2006, the time for MU arrived. Elizabeth-Ann has dedicated her energy and creativity to the organization ever since.