Artist not a profession (for me)

I come from a very conservative small town with practically no « culture » to speak of.

When I was a kid, I mostly kept to myself and was really into drawing and reading. These two activities help me quench a thirst for knowledge and stimulated me, as I was very curious and wanted to know for the sake of knowing things. Today, I still can’t remember birthdays and stuff like that, but I do remember all sorts of seemingly useless information that usually pops out of my brain whenever someone brings up a related subject.

Even though back then I didn’t have many friends, I was always a talker. I still get a kick at explaining things in details. I guess it’s a way of understanding things for myself.

After I completed my degree in fine arts and philosophy, I never thought about being an artist as a profession, a way to make a living – it didn’t even cross my mind. I went on the job market and made my way into customer service jobs, then operations and coordination.

Many years later, I would create the ratsdeville webzine, posting Montreal’s visual arts events online. Semi-consciously, I wanted to provide the kind of service I would have liked to have access to when I got out of art school. Because if you don’t know what’s out there, how can you be a part of it? It’s all about network I guess, circulation of the artworks sure, and also people. The art world is a place where you can become part of something, belong and capitalize on your relationships.

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