Place des Festivals transfigured

The Place des Festivals is transfigured with a scenography by Studio 703; it has been impregnated with the cosmovision of the First Peoples and has drawn inspiration from contemporary Aboriginal artists who translate, in their own way, the rich spiritual and artistic heritage of the territory.

A visual and luminous dressing has been specially designed for the First People’s Festival, including a multimedia creation by Caroline Monnet and Sébastien Aubin of the AM collective.

A significant architecture

The large, central tipi evokes the vertical axis that unites the sky, the earth and the underwater world. At the top, a flock of geese is reminiscent of the birds that brought Atahensic, the woman of heaven, to the first day of the world. At ground level, the turtle represents the marine world, and its shell, the earth's crust it carries on its back.

The Longhouse is a traditional Iroquois architecture. It is very typical of Montreal.

Tipis are a form of textile architecture that evokes the Prairies and Taiga.

The deer in the fountains refer to the animal world, and the nurturing forest. The streams of water represent the soul that gives life to Creation. 

Wall projections

From Wednesday August 7th to Sunday August 12th
9:00 pm to 11:00 pm, alternately, every night.

A multimedia mural was specially designed for the 2014 edition by the AM Collective composed of the Anishinabe artist Caroline Monnet and the Cree artist Sébastien Aubin. The geometric frames and bright colors are drawn from the rich visual heritage of the Native American imaginary.

In 2017, the two artists signed a new work freely inspired by the myth of the Enemy Twins.

A sequence signed by Michel Poulin (Aludel) is a tribute to Mother Earth as seen by Indigenous People. The video evokes the birth of the world, the first spark of life, the crossing of the Missinak Turtle, to us. A representation closing the loop between tradition and modernity, between the roots (the tradition, the memory) of the tree (the human community), and the summit of its branches sloping towards the future.

With a series of hand-made black-and-white animations, the  AM Collective (Sébastien Aubin, Caroline Monnet) seeks to illustrate the traditional Anishinaabe story of the two enemy brothers who created our natural landscape. Abstract lines, contemporary images and robust typography make up a visual experience that communicates the closeness of two opposing entities that are linked beyond their differences. By creating a subtle experience of attraction and opposition, oscillating between light and dark, interspersed with moments of stillness, AM leaves the viewer in a position of ambivalence where he must accept that one cannot exist without its opposite.

Tradntional arts in honor

The Northern Voice is a contemporary drum group from Wemotaci. They recently recorded their third album entitled Kikawino aski, The Guardians of the Earth. The band members have been singing together for over 5 years and travel all over the Pow Wow trail. Their album In Land We Trust has been nominated in the category of Best Contemporary Album at the 2015 Indigenous Music Awards. They will continue to share their culture through their songs. Aho mikwetc

Deer family, Mohawk Singers and dancers

Family of traditional dancers and singers from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake. The troupe is very involved in a variety of Aboriginal events and they are doing a lot of outreach on Mohawk culture and teaching about traditions.