As part of Université de Montréal's MITIG Week activities, the Faculty of Music welcomes Mi'kmaq L'nu artist and poet Michelle Sylliboy to host a day focused on interdisciplinary co-creation, organized in collaboration with our Research Chair.
In the morning (10 a.m. to 12 p.m.), a dialogue with Michelle Sylliboy allowed us to get to know her, discovering her artistic approach, her experiences of co-creation and her vision of reconciliation through art. Before this activity, Michelle Sylliboy suggested that we create bonds of friendship between participants to lay the foundations for dialogue. In the afternoon (2-5 p.m.), she led an interdisciplinary co-creation workshop with the audience, including musicians, dancers and artists.
They responded with music and dance to echo the language, photographs and poetry of Michelle Sylliboy. In developing musical and dance responses to her works participants were invited to analyze them in depth, not only intellectually but also emotionally.
Each group then presented its musical response to the whole group, allowing for the discovery of other aspects of each chosen work. This interdisciplinary work of co-creation, in which music responds to images, sounds and even the symbols of the Mi'kmaq L'nu script, demonstrates how learning about a culture and exchange between individuals can take place through art, transcending the traditional boundaries of disciplines and differences.