Julie Ciot’s love story
” [It’s] is crucial to support L’imprimerie both for its mission and its ability to offer its employees a decent living wage. Without them, L’imprimerie simply cannot survive. ”
This year, L’imprimerie’s annual donation campaign celebrates the team behind its services!
Throughout the donation campaign, we will introduce you to the team of workers, one precious person at a time, to highlight their respective expertise and include you even more in the heart of L’imprimerie. Every two weeks, you will be introduced to each worker, as well as their love letter to L’imprimerie, printmaking and its artists.
We start our campaign with Julie Ciot. After a remarkable contribution as an administrative assistant and then as a technical and artistic advisor in digital printing, Julie left her post in April. You will surely run into her again in the studio, as she is leaving to devote more time to her artistic practice! L’imprimerie’s team would like to highlight her commitment, thank her for her exceptional work and, of course, wish Julie the best of luck in her future projects.
We invite you to discover her love story and her practice through this article.
” In May 2022, I graduated with a degree in visual arts and applied for the posting of administrative assistant at L’imprimerie. I wanted to immerse myself in the Montreal art community and contribute to the culture of my neighbourhood, Hochelaga. Production-oriented artist-run centres were an unfamiliar universe to me. I discovered an infinite range of possibilities, a dynamic community, and exceptional colleagues. The team’s commitment to making this space accessible, safe and stimulating is undoubtedly what makes it so valuable. L’imprimerie is not just a production studio, but also a place for encounters, exchanges, and possibilities. A few months after starting at L’imprimerie, I was offered a new position as a digital printing advisor. I had no experience, but they had faith in me and in my skills. Since then, I have had the pleasure of accompanying our artist members in their production processes and artistic reflections. I feel privileged to work in proximity with the contemporary printmaking community. It is really a chance to see art being made and to work with and get to know the people behind these projects! Some of the conversations I have had between printing projects have had a profound effect on me and are still with me today.
View of the installation Prendre soin de toi, 2021
View of the installation Prendre soin de toi, 2021
Unfortunately, I left L’imprimerie mid-April. I took this decision with a heavy heart. There is increasing discussion and concern surrounding the salaries and conditions of cultural workers. Even if we choose these jobs out of passion, that same passion is no longer enough to make a living. As an artist, my other sources of income, to make ends meet, take me even further away from my artistic practice.
More than ever, it is crucial to support L’imprimerie both for its mission and its ability to offer its employees a decent living wage. Without them, L’imprimerie simply cannot survive.”
Photo credit: Katya Koniokhova
Biographie
Julie Ciot (she/her) is a visual artist, photographer, and digital printing consultant at L’imprimerie, centre d’artistes. Her personal practice revolves around the analogy between the intrinsically temporal nature of the photographic image and the ephemeral nature of existence. Through digital printing, etching and installation, she addresses themes of conservation, process, and resilience. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions at the Centre Clark (2022), Fais-moi l’art (2022), and Gallery Parfois (2022, 2018). In addition to the visual arts, Julie is an amateur mixologist, a wintery knitter, and a summertime gardener.
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Photo credit: Katya Konioukhova