Simon Chalifoux
Basse, Canada
Bass Simon Chalifoux was born in Montreal. He has a Master’s degree in Voice from the Université de Montréal and was a member of the Calgary Opera Emerging Artist Program during the 2016-2017 season. The crisis affecting the opera world since March 2020 has given him the opportunity to self-educate on the issues of racism, sexism, and colonialism plaguing both society at large and the world of arts and culture.
In 2012, Simon crossed paths with Exeko, a Montreal organization with a mission to build a more inclusive and creative society. During the eight years he spent with the organization, he developed his skills as a facilitator. He built a reputation for creating entertaining workshops during which participants were led to reflect on societal issues. Using artistic or creative objects, he invited participants to think about the world around them. He also took part in a lab on the topic of inclusion in the arts. His most recent personal project, The Dictionary of Rare and Ancient Words, gave passersby on Montreal streets an opportunity to come up with definitions for old French words, such as bacbuc, esquipot, and pet-en-l’air. The poetic findings were collected in a zine and distributed on the streets of Montreal.
PROJECT IN WHICH HE TAKES PART :