b'ART MEETS COMMERCEYou never tell artists that they will become entrepreneurs. Its not something that comes together when you go out in the world wanting to be an artist.Caroline Monnetshe regularly forgoes the use of paint andcanvasinfavourofeverydayMonnet runs her own studio in Montral, often manipulating building materials in her creationsbuilding materials, her pieces are sometimes woven together with naturalthe environment we live in, and how weDefying the colonial gaze is especially materials like copper or fur, drawing onconstantly separate ourselves from theprevalent in Monnets photography. Indigenous design traditions.natural environments, explains Monnet,One of her more political pieces is who studied sociology and commu- now in the permanent UNESCO collec-Overall, Monnets Indigenous back- nication at the University of Ottawation in Paris, showcasing Indigenous ground has been critical in the evolu- before embarking on her creative career.women with their fists raised in the air. tion of her design aesthetic and theUsually, the topics that I explore areThe women I photographed, they look ideas her creations evoke. They bringaround habitat, territory, connectiondirectly at my camera. Theyre proud, together a multitude of narratives, sheto land, connection to territory, andtheyre colourful and eccentric and resil-says, drawing on conversations aroundnotions of habitat. ient, and everything that sometimes we colonization, capitalism and patriarchy.dont see in the media, she says.Interestingly, Monnets creative career I feel artists are a bit like sociologists,started with film work. Her first shortBUSINESS KNOW-HOWobserves Monnet, whose mother is afilm, Ikw, was made in 2009 and woveMonnet now runs her own studio in member of the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabegtogether the intimate thoughts of oneMontral, with a growing staff to help First Nation. Our role is to respond towoman with the teachings of her grand- her. At one point I realized I was doing a the world around us and offer dialoguemother, the Moon. Shes made nearly alot of administrative work and no longer and try to raise awareness on issues thatdozen short films since then, with herfocusing on the artistic aspect of being are important globally. [Increasingly]first feature film, Bootlegger, winningan artist, and that came with a lot of it became more important for me toBest Screenplay at the 2017 Cannesfrustration. So I hired my first assistant, engage with current issues, things thatFilm Festival.she says.are important to me and to use the art to start speaking about them. For example, therepresentationofIndigenous women on screen, and just breaking down those stereotypes and precon-ceptions through the art. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, and raised between Douarnenez, France, and the Algonquin territory of Outaouais, in Qubec, Monnet grew up helping her parents flip houses. So engaging in transformation and manipulating building materials are things that have a deep meaning for her. [My childhood] was a constant state of transformation. Thats why the building materials have come back in my prac-tice. They [also] allow me to speak about the housing crisis and these ideas of Monnet recently entered the world of fashion, creating handmade custom garments out of construction materialsIndigenous BUSINESS REPORT55'