About the speaker
Priya Ramesh (artist name: Contra) is a multidisciplinary artist who navigates the Canadian arts and culture landscape as a musician, director, curator, and creative strategist.
Her most prominent project to date is through her work in Cartel Madras, an expansive and experimental music project now signed under Sub Pop Records. As a founding member of the FOREIGNERZ arthouse her artistic journey has also brought her into the world of art direction, filmmaking, and creative strategy. Challenging cities, industries, and narratives to allow new voices in is at the very centre of how Contra pursues all her creative endeavors; furthering culture and allowing art to thrive.
Using her eclectic professional background within the creative sector, Contra has been able to combine her artistry with business strategy and marketing acumen with initiatives through her collective and work with other Calgary based arts organizations. Through her work in Cartel Madras, she has developed counter-culture showcases for new artists while touring extensively within Canada & The United States giving her an immediate, essential and thorough pulse of the underground across Canada.
In 2021 she expanded her expertise into overseeing the creation and production of art exhibitions, digital series and documentaries and was the curator of the Arts Commons Incubator program for its 2021-2022 season. Since 2021, she has worked with BUMP Festival in creative strategy, programming & marketing.
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