8th edition · 21–30 May 2026
Concerts and events from 21 to 30 May 2026
Through the theme of Roots, the Festival des musiciens de monde invites audiences to explore the foundations of musical practice: territory, language, collective memory and passed-down knowledge. True to its mission, the CMM presents a programme that celebrates cultural heritage while affirming its contemporary vitality through creativity and dialogue.
Not to be missed
Concert programming
A series of exceptional musical performances at the Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus in Mile End, from 21 to 30 May 2026.
21 may 2026
Breath and trace. Joséphine Bacon and Aurélia Lassaque kindle an initial blaze of pure words. An intimate and formative gathering, woven from shared silences, to remind us that our flesh and that of the world are born of the same shiver.
22 May 2026
“Innu Uman” combines two words meaning “HUMAN” in Innu-Aimun and Occitan. At the crossroads of language, land, and memory, this performance offers a poetic, musical and sensory journey in which Innu and Occitan voices unite in a shared spirit of resistance and beauty.
23 May 2026
This concert reinterprets the music of the Andes and South America through 17th- and 18th-century manuscripts, including the Codice Trujillo and the Codice Luz y Norte. These sources are complemented by pieces from oral and folk traditions passed down from generation to generation.
24 may 2026
Throat singing
By Jeannette Laloche
28 May 2026
With an innovative approach, Paolo Angeli crafts a hybrid style of music that blends Mediterranean tradition, minimalism and avant-rock. His voice, inspired by the ancient sounds of Sardinia, conveys a unique intensity. At the heart of the concert: his individually “prepared” Sardinian guitar, which he has been designing and developing for over 30 years.
29 May 2026
The Secret Trio brings together three exceptional musicians: Ara Dinkjian (oud), Ismail Lumanovski (clarinet) and Tamer Pınarbaşı (kanun). Together, they create a unique style of chamber music which blends original compositions with traditions from the Middle East and the Balkans, underscored by jazz, classical and contemporary influences.
30 May 2026
Screening of the silent film masterpiece Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925), accompanied live by musicians Payman Yazdanian and Adib Rostami. Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, Grass (The Exodus) chronicles the annual migration of Iran’s Bakhtiari nomadic tribes.
Free activities / Registration required
From May 21 to 24, 2026, Indigenous Visions and Roots offers a space for Indigenous artists to engage in dialogue with creators and researchers from different cultural traditions. The daytime activities, which are free of charge but require registration, include lectures, round-table discussions and workshops for adults, school groups and families. These activities will integrate language and imagination while recognising the diversity of knowledge and cultural expression.
9.30am – 10am | «Les paroles qui viennent avant toute chose» by Niioierren (Eileen) Patton
Opening ceremony
This opening ceremony, led by Niioierren (Eileen) Patton, takes a thoughtful approach to the venue, the context and the relationships present. It opens the event with a gesture of acknowledgement and connection, inviting the audience to enter a space of listening and respect.
Niioierren (Eileen) Patton is a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) elder from the community of Kahnawà:ke. She is recognised as a knowledge keeper, storyteller and cultural resource person, and regularly participates in ceremonies, institutional meetings and educational settings
Free
10am – 11am | Interview with Louise Bédard and Niioierren Eileen Patton
This interview highlights the relationship of trust and collaboration between Niioierren (Eileen) Patton and Louise Bédard. Through their shared conversation, they discuss a collaborative project rooted in listening, respect and a long-term perspective, in which memory, transmission and creation are woven together through a dialogue grounded in Indigenous traditions.
Interview conducted by Louise Bédard
Niioierren (Eileen) Patton is a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) elder from the community of Kahnawà:ke. She is recognised as a knowledge keeper, storyteller and cultural resource person, and regularly participates in ceremonies, institutional meetings and educational settings.
Louise Bédard is a director and documentary filmmaker based in Montreal who has been active in Quebec’s audiovisual sector since the 1990s. She has developed a practice rooted in reality, the local environment and human relationships, notably through personal projects and collaborations in the fields of documentary filmmaking and independent production.
Free
11am – 12pm | Moe Clark: music, language, healing
This meeting between Moe Clark and anthropologist Gilles Bibeau offers a thoughtful exploration of the connections between song, poetry, identity and spirituality. The conversation will address the themes of healing, transmission, cultural revitalisation and reconciliation that run through contemporary Indigenous artistic practices. The discussion will broaden our understanding of the role of art as a space for memory, resistance and the transformation of the world.Échange en anglais avec traduction en français.
Moe Clark is a Métis multidisciplinary artist based in Tio’tiá:ke / Montreal. Through song, poetry and vocal performance, she explores the voice as a space for connection, memory and a sense of being alive. Her work, rooted in languages, storytelling and deep listening, is part of a process of healing, transmission and dialogue between cultures and generations.
Free
1.30 pm – 2.30 pm | Healing the world through art. A journey through life with Domingo Cisneros
Come and join this conversation between Domingo Cisneros and anthropologist Gilles Bibeau on the concept of healing, understood as a vital, creative and spiritual process. A humanist with boundless curiosity, Domingo Cisneros has devoted his life to listening to the living world—plants, animals, humans—by blending indigenous knowledge of nature with an artistic practice where the real and the fantastical interplay. The conversation will explore his life journey and his work, crafted from natural materials and sensitive narratives, to examine the profound connections between creation, loss, rebirth and communion with the living world.
Domingo Cisneros is a Métis visual artist and writer from the Tepehuane Nation, born in Mexico and based in Quebec since the late 1960s. A pioneering figure in contemporary Indigenous art, he has had a profound impact on the art world through an artistic practice rooted in the land and the boreal forest, using natural materials and a socio-ecological approach. A former teacher and head of the Arts and Communications department at Manitou College, he has played a major role as a mentor to several generations of artists. In 2018, UQAM awarded him an honorary doctorate in recognition of his life’s work.
Free
1.30 pm – 2.30 pm | Workshop led by Moe Clark
Workshop for schools only
2.30pm – 3.30pm | Playing with sounds and words. A travelling writing workshop with Aurélia Lassaque
Workshop for the general public
Playing with Sounds and Words is a travelling writing workshop led by the Occitan poet Aurélia Lassaque. Through sound games, rhythms, languages and observational walks, participants are invited to explore a form of writing that is lively, sensitive and intuitive. Weather permitting, the workshop will take place outdoors, allowing the landscape, voices and movements to inspire poetic creation.
Aurélia Lassaque is an Occitan poet whose writing is rooted in the Occitan language, which she explores in its oral, rhythmic and sensory dimensions. Her work, often published in bilingual Occitan–French editions, examines the links between language, territory, memory and the living world. Through performance readings and travelling workshops, she transforms poetry into a space of circulation between landscapes, bodies and voices, where transmission occurs through listening and movement.
This workshop takes place outdoors. Please meet at Parc Lahaie in front of the Centre des musiciens du monde (5043 Rue Saint-Dominique)
Free
2.30 pm – 3.30 pm | Workshop led by D. Cisneros
Workshop for schools only
8.00 pm | Poetry reading with Joséphine Bacon and Aurélia Lassaque
Poetry reading in Innu Aimun, Occitan and French
Breath and trace. Joséphine Bacon and Aurélia Lassaque kindle an initial blaze of pure words. Between the dizzying humility of the tundra and the mystical sensuality of the Occitan region, their poetry unites the wind of the spirit with the ancestral stride of the walker. An intimate and foundational vigil, woven from shared silences, to remind us that our flesh and that of the world are born of the same shiver.
Fee applies – limited places available
10am – 11am | Indigenous languages in the singular
This event offers an open-ended exploration of Indigenous languages as living, context-specific and uniquely distinct expressions of the cultures that sustain them. Through thoughtful dialogue, the discussion will examine the ways in which these languages are conceived, described and passed on today, as well as the worldviews they convey. The discussion will address contemporary issues surrounding the preservation, revitalisation and teaching of Indigenous languages, highlighting their central role in the cultural continuity, identity and creativity of peoples.
Jimena Terraza is a linguist and lecturer at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), specialising in the Indigenous languages of the Americas. She is also the programme coordinator for Arts, Humanities and Communication at Kiuna College. Born in Argentina, she initially devoted her research to the Indigenous languages of her native country, notably Wichi, before continuing her work in Quebec on the languages of the Algonquian family (Innu, Cree, Ojibwe, Atikamekw). Her career has been marked by a constant commitment to the documentation, transmission and revitalisation of Indigenous languages, in close collaboration with the communities.
Free
10am–11am | The Great Outdoors: an introduction to Inuit throat singing
11am – 12pm | Uashteskun, Innu writer
During this interview, Uashteskun will take part in a discussion exploring the links between identity, territory and writing. Drawing on her life story and her work, the conversation will address the sense of belonging, the experience of being uprooted from one’s territory, and our relationship with the living world. The event will also include a reflection on environmental issues, in the spirit of an ode to the earth and to living things, where literature becomes a space for transmission, memory and reconnection.
Uashteskun is an Innu writer whose work sensitively explores issues of identity, territory and belonging. Through his stories, which are often rooted in the experiences of Indigenous youth, he examines the effects of exile, the loss of bearings and our relationship with the natural world, using writing as a space for reflection, transmission and resistance.
Free
2.00–3.00 pm | Roots, uprooting, and re-rooting with A. Dudemaine, A. Fournier and G. Bibeau
Alain Fournier is a Quebec architect renowned for his long-standing commitment to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, particularly in northern Quebec and Canada. Specialising in northern architecture, he has completed numerous institutional and community projects in close collaboration with Indigenous communities. His work, recognised with the Ernest-Cormier Prize (2022), places architecture at the service of identity, territory and self-determination, by supporting peoples’ ability to take control of their built environment.
Gilles Bibeau is an anthropologist, professor emeritus and essayist, renowned for his long-standing commitment to the Indigenous peoples of Quebec and the Americas. His work combines anthropological research, critical reflection and intercultural dialogue, with a constant focus on issues of territory, memory, transmission and social justice. A key figure in fostering dialogue between academic, cultural and community circles, he has spent several decades working to create spaces for shared expression, where thought, listening and culture become catalysts for mutual understanding and collective transformation.
Free
3pm – 4pm | Between home and school: the Atikamekw language with Gaetane Petiquay
Gaétane Petiquay will discuss the educational challenges faced by young Indigenous people. Drawing on her experience as Director of Education at Wemotaci, among the Atikamekw people, Gaétane Petiquay—now an Atikamekw teacher at Kiuna Indigenous College—will share a vision of education rooted in the reality of communities, with a focus on the place of children and teenagers. The discussion with anthropologist G. Bibeau will explore how young people navigate their identity amidst the memory of historical violence and a deep connection to the land, both physical and spiritual. Together, the speakers will reflect on the role of education as a space for healing, knowledge transmission and openness, enabling young people to look forward to a future full of meaning and hope.
Free
6pm – 7pm | Pre-concert talk – Innu Uman
Pre-concert talk at the Church of Saint-Enfant-Jésus
Further details to follow
Free
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Please note that registration for the pre-concert talk does not grant you access to the concert. You will need to purchase a ticket for the Innu Uman concert in order to attend.
8.00 pm | Innu Uman concert
“Innu Uman” combines two words meaning “HUMAN” in Innu-Aimun and Occitan. Bringing together languages, territories and memories, this performance offers a poetic, musical and sensory journey in which Innu and Occitan voices unite in a shared spirit of resistance and beauty.
In a diverse Francophone world, Indigenous and regional languages are the guardians of an essential memory. Born of a territory, they embody a worldview and express the connection between the human, the living and the invisible. Innu-Aimun and Occitan, deeply rooted, bear witness to this sensitive relationship with the world.
At a time when biodiversity is in decline and languages are disappearing, this performance charts a path between resistance and resonance.
INNU UMAN explores the existence of a shared language, made of breath and listening, conveyed through poetry.
On stage:
Joséphine Bacon, poet
Aurélia Lassaque, poet
Alain Larribet, composer, singer and musician
Clotilde Gilles, piano and cello
For a fee
10am–11am | Documentary film as a tool for Indigenous activism with Francine Saia
This interview with Francine Saia, a documentary filmmaker and editor, explores the documentary as a tool for engaging with Indigenous realities. In particular, she discusses her close collaboration with Arthur Lamothe, a leading figure in socially conscious Indigenous cinema originally from the Béarn region, and the role she played in shaping, preserving and passing on this essential body of work. A testimony to a form of cinema that is grassroots, political and deeply rooted in Indigenous struggles.
Francine Saia is a Quebec-based documentary filmmaker and editor. Active since the 1970s, she has distinguished herself through socially engaged works addressing issues of territory, power and social justice, notably *À qui appartient ce gage ?* (1973) and *Notre terre* (1980). Her work is part of a tradition of critical documentary that gives a central place to the voices and struggles of Indigenous peoples.
Free
11 pm – 12 pm | Screening of Arthur Lamothe’s documentary film: Mémoire battante (Part 1)
Screening of the documentary in the presence of Francine Saia
Further details to follow
Free
1.30 pm – 2.30 pm | Screening of Arthur Lamothe’s documentary film: Mémoire battante (Part 2)
Screening of the documentary in the presence of Francine Saia
Further details to follow
Free
2.30 pm – 4 pm | Screening of Arthur Lamothe’s documentary film: Mémoire battante (Part 3)
Screening of the documentary in the presence of Francine Saia
Further details to follow
Free
6pm – 7pm | Pre-concert talk
A conversation between Kiya Tabassian (Artistic Director of Constantinople) and Frédéric Léotar (ethnomusicologist)
Free
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Please note: For those wishing to attend the ‘La Traversée des Andes’ concert at 8pm, here are the two options available to you:
– Individual concert tickets on sale here (Constantinople Box Office)
– Festival Pass – 5 concerts on sale here (Centre des Musiciens du Monde Box Office)
8.00 pm | La Traversée des Andes
Constantinople and the Centre for World Musicians present
LA TRAVERSÉE DES ANDES
This concert reimagines the music of the Andes and South America through manuscripts dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Codice Trujillo and the Codice Luz y Norte. These written sources are complemented by pieces from oral and folk traditions passed down from generation to generation, creating a musical evening with a rich repertoire that reflects the vibrant and radiant character of these peoples.
Live on stage
Kiya Tabassian, setar and artistic director
Federico Tarazona, charango
Jonatan Alvarado, vocals
Tanya La Perrière, baroque violin and viola d’amore
Etienne Lafrance, double bass
Patrick Graham, percussion
Sigiberto Domingo Velasquez Lecca, quena
Maria Consuelo Jeri Molina, Quechua singer
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This project is funded by the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, the Canada Council for the Arts and the Asociación ZINIA in Peru.
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Ticketed event
This concert is accessible by purchasing the Festival Pass – 5 concerts via the Centre des musiciens du monde box office
To buy a single ticket, visit the Constantinople box office
10am–11am | Family Workshop: The Great Outdoors
The throat singers and co-artistic directors of Oktoecho – Indigenous Section, Nina Segalowitz, Lydia Etok, and choir director Tiphaine Legrand, invite you to take part in the choral work *Les Grands Espaces* by composer Katia Makdissi-Warren. This composition was created with the aim of passing on a love for this culture to young people. Drawing its inspiration from throat singing, this playful piece takes listeners of all ages on a journey into a highly creative musical world. Come and discover and share the astonishing richness of this tradition. Over 60,000 young people have already taken part in this workshop in Quebec, Canada and even in France.
Partner: Collectif Oktoecho
11.15am – 12.15pm | Family Workshop: Traditional Atikamekw tales by Jeannette Laloche
This activity will be led by Jeannette Laloche (Atikamekw). Its aim is to introduce families and the general public to the context and framework within which Indigenous folklore is passed down. Before sharing stories, the artist will provide some background information to introduce children to the rich and mysterious world of little-known Indigenous traditions.
Jeannette Laloche is currently Deputy Head of Primary Education in the community of Wemotaci. For several years, she served as early years coordinator and teacher at the Siskitin School in Wemotaci. Keen to adapt the curriculum to the Atikamekw’s worldview, she contributed to the project aimed at introducing the Atisokana into the curriculum.
Paid (includes the ‘Les Grands Espaces’ activity at 10am)
Not to be missed
Questions?
How do I get to the festival?
Address of the Centre des musiciens du monde
5043 Saint-Dominique Street
Montreal (Quebec) H2T 1V1
Laurier Metro station
What payment methods are accepted?
We accept cash, debit cards and credit cards, whether you’re booking your tickets or paying on the day.
What does the concert pass include?
The concert pass gives you access to our five festival concerts on 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 May.
Are the concerts and activities accessible to people with reduced mobility?
The Centre des musiciens du monde and the Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile have limited accessibility for people with reduced mobility. Please get in touch with us so that we can help you plan your visit. Some festival activities may be more difficult to access.
The Festival des musiciens du monde showcases the richness and diversity of global musical traditions and cultures. Each concert invites audiences to discover new instruments and explore unique repertoires.
The festival brings together artists from all over and offers them a platform to share their music. It’s an opportunity to support artists from diverse backgrounds and to discover original creations.
Beyond the concerts, the festival fosters rich exchanges between artists and audiences. You’ll find participatory workshops, meet‑the‑artist sessions, and a wide range of family‑friendly activities.
