Forest Chants

Émilie Monnet is an interdisciplinary artist who has developed a theatrical practice revolving around questions of identity, land, and transformation, leading to appearances at major theatres around the world. Occupying the intersection of theatre, performance, and media arts, she presents collaborative works that bring overlooked lives and stories into the spotlight. Of Anishinaabe and French origin, her childhood was divided between the Outaouais and Brittany. She currently lives in Mooniyaang/Montreal. With her company ONISHKA, she builds bridges between Indigenous artistic communities throughout the world, notably via the Indigenous Contemporary Scene platform, which has presented events in Edinburgh at both the International Festival and Fringe. Her work Marguerite: le feu received acclaim at the Festival d’Avignon last summer. In 2019, FTA presented This Time Will Be Different, a collaboration with the choreographer Lara Kramer denouncing the status quo in Canada’s treatment of Indigenous peoples.

Born in Yurayaco in Colombia, she grew up with traditional ayahuasca ceremonies led by her taita (traditional doctor) grandfathers. Possessing valuable traditional knowledge, she has contributed to the official recognition of Inga lands and the establishment of a pan-Amazonian radio network in the Inga language. She has created experimental sound art pieces for the Amazon Intercultural Radios Network and participated in artistic residencies and sound laboratories in various countries.

For over a dozen years, the two artists have been collaborating on solidarity-based exchanges between their communities. In various ways, these feed into their work on the show NIGAMON/TUNAI, a project launched in 2011. An initial exploratory laboratory was presented at Montreal’s OBORO art centre in 2013. FTA presented a public laboratory in 2023.