About Us
Montreal
Clown
Festival
Our goal is to showcase local, national and international clown artists, creating links to Montreal with clown communities throughout the world.
Founded in 2016 in Canada’s circus capital by two female clowns, Vanessa Rigaux and Kendall Savage, the festival creates opportunities for performers to present original works that fall under the Clown, Bouffon or Physical Theatre spectrums.
Discover the subversive and ancient art of clowning.
The festival is designed to create opportunities for professional and emerging artists to meet, experiment, perform, and exchange clown practices, and to offer audiences at large the opportunity to enjoy and discover the subversive and ancient art of clowning.
We welcome performers of all genders, cultures and identities. We are dedicated to cultivating a bilingual, multicultural program, welcoming French, English and also physical and nonsensical language of the clown.
The Montreal Clown Festival offers unique performance opportunities for clowns to apply for, and offers workshops, panel discussions and special events for the public to participate in.
Board of Directors
The Montreal Clown Festival is guided by a board of recognized leaders from the cultural and performing arts sectors, united by a strong commitment to advancing and supporting cultural development.
Dominique Marier – President
Director of Art and Development, Le Gésù
Mathilde Balli – Secretary
Marketing and Social Media Specialist
Patrick Barsalou – Vice-President
Manager, Casting – Artist Contracts, Cirque du Soleil
Cécile Braemer – Treasurer
Head of Costumes – Film and Cinema (Retired)
Patrick Léonard
Co-founder & Co-Director, 7 Doigts de la Main
Mirko Trierenberg
Consultant in Strategy and Organizational Transformation
Vanessa Rigaux
Artistic & General Director – The Montréal Clown Festival
Founding Chairwoman
Jennifer Quinn
Festival Staff
The festival is brought to life by a dedicated team of professionals and cultural enthusiasts who work behind the scenes to create meaningful experiences and celebrate the performing arts.
Artistic & General Director
Vanessa Rigaux
Production Manager
Tanya Burka
Administrative and Communications Assistant
Youmna Moacdieh
Marketing & Communications Consultant
Nathaniel Huard
Graphic Design
Solène Lautridou
Web Design
Nathaniel Huard
Co-Founders
Vanessa Rigaux & Kendall Savage
Artistic Planning Team
Marie-Hélène Côté, Krin Haglund, Dominique Marier, Vanessa Rigaux
Artistic Selection Committee – Cabaret
Joe De Paul, Patrick Léonard, Vanessa Rigaux
Let’s keep in touch!
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