In collaboration with the Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI), we are proud to announce the finalists for the 2023 Charles Biddle Award. This award, presented as part of the ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the Québec Intercultural Encounters Week (SQRI) on November 9, draws attention to the outstanding contributions of immigrants to Quebec whose personal and professional commitments contribute to the cultural and artistic development of Quebec society. It recognizes the talent of immigrants who have chosen to enrich their communities through their talent, creativity and passion for what they do.
The candidates were invited to provide highlights of their involvement, efforts, contributions and commitment to promoting Quebec culture at home and abroad. The finalists in the National/International Category are singer-songwriter and pianist Malika Tirolien, gallery owner Noel Guyomarc’h, and guitarist and composer Arturo Parra. The finalists in the regional category are poet and writer Nora Atalla, choreographer and artistic director Nicolas Zemmour, and visual artist José Luis Torres.
Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin) produced two short videos about them. Watch the videos (french only) about the Regional Category and National/International Category finalists on the website of Télé-Québec’s La Fabrique culturelle, our dissemination partner.
Profiles of the finalists
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY
Noel Guyomarc’h | Gallery owner (artistic jewelry)
Originally from Brittany, Noel Guyomarc’h settled in Montreal in the late 1980s. In 1996, he opened a gallery dedicated to contemporary jewelry, the first of its kind in Quebec and Canada. Acting as curator, representative, promoter and consultant, he has organized more than 145 exhibitions in the gallery and exported some of them to the United States and Europe. The gallery represents 80 jewelry artists, including nearly 30 who are Quebecers. In addition to his gallery owner activities, he is now an evaluator for some museums, including the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. He also gives workshops in jewelry design, thereby contributing to the success of several current jewelry artists. Noel Guyomarc’h has played a key role in educating jewelry artists and the Quebec public to see jewelry as meaningful artistic objects. His gallery contributes to the development of contemporary jewelry and strengthens Quebec’s presence in this discipline internationally.
Photo credit: Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin)
Arturo Parra | Guitarist and composer
Colombian-born Arturo Parra arrived in Quebec in 1989, having received a South American artistic excellence scholarship from the Canadian government. He later obtained a master’s degree in guitar and the first doctorate in Latin American music at the Université de Montréal (UdeM). A world pioneer of mixed music for classical guitar and electronic media, he produced the disc Parr(A)cousmatique in 2002. The album was produced under the empreintes DIGITALes label and received many international awards. Acclaimed for its boldness, Parr(A)cousmatique is considered a major work in the history of mixed music. His compositions and performances have won prizes at the world’s most renowned competitions and festivals, such as the Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition (France) and Musica Nova (Czech Republic). Through the three albums in his discography (Parr(A)cousmatique, Voz and Terra Incognita), Arturo Parra has invented more than 50 extended guitar techniques in collaborations with artists from various disciplines and cultures. His work has helped to promote closer relationships between cultures within Quebec society and raised awareness of Quebec culture internationally.
Photo credit: Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin)
Malika Tirolien |Singer-songwriter and pianist
Born in Guadeloupe, Malika Tirolien came to Quebec in 2001. The singer, musician and composer is recognized for her many collaborative projects. Her interpretation of the song I’m Not the One, a song by the American group Snarky Puppy, propelled her on to the international scene. As a solo artist, she blends jazz, soul, hip-hop and Caribbean rhythms. Her second album, HIGHER, released in 2021, deals with social issues, turns the spotlight on marginalized communities and elicits thinking about equality and social justice. The album was distributed around the world and more than 60 concerts featuring songs from the album were performed in Canada, the United States, Europe, the West Indies and Brazil. In 2022, the artist became the spokesperson for Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign, the most closely followed human rights campaign in the world. Through her art, Malika Tirolien celebrates Quebec’s cultural diversity: She incorporates elements from her native Guadeloupe, sings in French, English and Creole, and collaborates with artists from various backgrounds. Her work helps to build a more inclusive cultural landscape, encourages important discussions and boosts artistic recognition for Quebec internationally.
Photo credit: Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin)
REGIONAL CATEGORY
Nora Atalla | Poet and writer
Nora Atalla has lived in Quebec since childhood. Born in Cairo, her forefathers were Greek-Lebanese and Franco-Georgian. She has published seven collections of poems, two novels and various short stories. Her work, which deals with themes of uprooting, exile and searching for identity, has been published in several languages. She has received various awards, including the Annette-Mbaye d’Erneville Poetry Award (Dakar), for her La révolte des pierres collection of poems. In 2009, she founded the Nuit de la poésie in Quebec City. Since then, 200 poets from Quebec and outside Quebec have been able to raise awareness of their art. Also in 2009, she launched the Les livres voyageurs project, which involved taking hundreds of works around the world to raise awareness of them abroad. Since 2019, Nora Atalla has been Vice-President (Quebec) of the Centre québécois du P.E.N. international, where she defends the cause of persecuted writers. An inspiring figure for newcomers to Quebec and for those seeking to promote cultural diversity within Quebec culture, Nora Atalla is a committed artist in her community and a representative around the world for Quebec writers.
Photo credit: Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin)
Nicolas Zemmour | Choreographer and artistic director
Nicolas Zemmour, born into a Jewish family from North Africa and the Middle East, emigrated to Quebec in 2019. He settled in Sherbrooke and founded ZemmourBallet, which became a permanent company in 2022. ZemmourBallet creates innovative dance festivals, such as Festival de danse servi au volant, held in 2020, and Festival de danse Amène ta chaise, held in 2021, the year in which he received the Excellence culture Estrie award. The ZemmourBallet festivals involve more than 85 artists and are attended by 4,200 dance enthusiasts across Quebec. Nicolas Zemmour is also committed to the artistic community and gives free dance classes to professional dancers. In 2023, he became Vice-President of the Regroupement québécois de la danse (RQD). Nicolas Zemmour promotes cultural diversity by presenting the work of artists who are from visible minorities or are immigrants and initiates various dance-related activities held for vulnerable people. He plays a major role in Quebec’s artistic community by disseminating the performing arts in the Eastern Townships region and by facilitating equitable access to dance.
Photo credit: Hani Ferland
José Luis Torres | Visual artist
Born in Argentina, José Luis Torres has been living in Quebec since 2003. He has a master’s degree in visual arts and training in architecture. His works have been exhibited at major events in North and South America, Europe and Asia. His innovative work, which addresses the reality of immigrants and the multiplicity of affiliations, has earned him many accolades. In 2021, he received the prestigious Prix personnalité art et culture en Chaudière-Appalaches award. Rooted in his community for more than 20 years, José Luis Torres is actively engaged in cultural and artistic life. He acts as a resource person for many cultural programs, including the Culture in Schools Program of Quebec’s Ministry of Culture and Communications. As an artist depicting Quebec’s cultural diversity, José Luis Torres values plurality and diversity. He incorporates a social dimension in his artistic creations and works with communities to create collective artworks that promote human encounters and diversity. His collaborative projects place people at the centre of his artistic process, thus contributing to the enrichment of Quebec society.
Photo credit: Productions Edgar Fritz (Martin Poulin)