Montreal’s Jazz Festival: Aluminium Bottles Designed by Two Mashteuiatsh Artists
Rio Tinto is proud to offer aluminium bottles designed by two Indigenous artists from Mashteuiatsh to participants of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, which runs from 15 to 19 September 2021.
As a major partner of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Rio Tinto will provide festivalgoers with nearly 83,000 reusable aluminium water bottles made from recycled aluminium. Rio Tinto worked in collaboration with the Kamishkak’Arts centre, an Indigenous organisation in Mashteuiatsh that offers various services to artists and artisans.
“For the past 16 years, Rio Tinto has been a proud supporter of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, a key event on the Montreal cultural scene that contributes to the city’s economic vitality,” said Ivan Vella, Chief Executive at Rio Tinto Aluminium. “To celebrate the return of this great celebration of music from here and elsewhere, we have created, in collaboration with two Innu artists from Mashteuiatsh, a recyclable aluminium water bottle that will be given to festivalgoers on site.”
The illustration printed on the bottles was designed by 16-year-old Océane Boivin, who was born to an Innu father and an Atikamekw-Innu mother. Océane grew up with both cultures. Her illustration depicts reconciliation, justice, and music. Music is a very important art form for the Innu, as it allows them to express their identity and to come together. This is why the illustration includes musical notes. The orange semicircle symbolises the land and the children who went missing during the residential school era. Océane also used purple to pay tribute to Joyce Echaquan, who has become a symbol of the fight against systemic racism. The graphic design was created by created by artist and graphic designer Sophie Kurtness.
The 41st edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal is presented by TD Bank Group in collaboration with Rio Tinto. More than thirty renowned artists will once again rock the Quartier des spectacles, and many of them will perform on the Rio Tinto stage.
For more information on the festival, visit https://www.montrealjazzfest.com.
{%CAPTION%}
