1. How did you come to create Foumalade and could you describe the type of work you do?
Foumalade is basically four people realizing that the combination of their talents yielded unexpected and interesting things, and then trying to figure out how to make a living off of that. We’re a fairly multidisciplinary bunch, with our core strengths laying in cinema, photography, animation and graphic design. So any work that includes some combination of those is probably within our sphere of interest. The more it blurs the lines between disciplines, the merrier.
As a nonprofit organization, we have a specific mission to help out the artistic community. We decided early on that we wanted to work with artists because we felt that they understood creativity and respected our work. But, more importantly, and this is where we’ll probably sound like raging idealists, we want art to live; we want it to be as rebellious, as weird, as independant, as spontaneous, and as free as it deserves to be. We feel that a lot of what’s happening on a broader scale – socially and politically, for instance – asphyxiates, rather than liberates, art. So we want to work against that, in our own little way.
2. How long have you been working professionally in Montreal ?
Foumalade itself is very young – we haven’t celebrated our first birthday yet. Before that, the four of us had been working together informally since around 2004.
3. Do you have any event or anecdote that is representative of your experience working in Montreal?
We can’t think of anything relevant to our work, but we do have an anecdote : Grospet, our mascot cat, once escaped from his home to our studio ten blocks down, amid traffic. We interpret that as a clear sign that he really likes what we do here.
4. Your work is fairly multi-disciplinary which I somewhat rare. Do you consider your work to be well understood in Montreal?
It’s certainly appreciated, but perhaps not so well understood. The diversity of our work makes it harder to pin down; even we are reluctant to categorize it squarely, because we’re willing to embark on any project that stimulates us creatively, no matter the specific disciplines or media it involves.
5. In your opinion, what key designers have shaped the creative scene
in Montreal?
Norman McLaren, Roadsworth, and Michel Brault come to mind. They’re not strictly speaking designers, but they definitely inspired us in some way, and they have certainly influenced Montreal’s creative scene.
6. What is missing from the Montreal creativity scene in your opinion?
Creatively speaking, we think it’s in pretty good health. What’s largely missing is social and political consciousness. A lot of creatives fail to grasp (or refuse to acknowledge) the broader ramifications of their work, and that’s unfortunate.
7. What would you say is the hardest thing about working in the creative industries in Montreal?
As a young and little known studio, one key challenge is finding paid work with people we want to work with. We’ve collaborated with a lot of artists on really interesting projects, but we often end up working a lot for very little money – which we’re happy to do, and you could argue that it’s part of our mission, but unfortunately we can’t live on that. We wish it were easier for artists to finance their projects.
8. What would you say is the best thing about working in the creative industries in Montreal?
There are a lot of inspiring things happening in various creative fields, especially on the indie scene. All sorts of people end up in Montreal and that creates an incredibly rich and diverse creative environment. It’s very stimulating to work here.
9. Where do the opportunities lie for the future of creativity in Montreal?
Hopefully, outside the reach of corporate interest. Sadly, creativity is largely sold to corporations and used as a trojan horse into consumers’ minds. We hope the creative space finds new ways to expand outside the market-driven creative industry.
10. If you had the choice to work somewhere else, where would it be?
Underwater would be pretty awesome.
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