Émilie F. Grenier, laureate

Narrative design is the meeting point of the tangible and the ephemeral, of materials and history. It engenders a process of exploratory creation that pushes back the usual frontiers of design, seeking to plant roots in related disciplines such as literature, the arts and cinema. Émilie F. Grenier aims to forge creative links with the Icelandic design and literature communities and help develop a relationship between Montréal and Reykjavik, which are both part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, as a City of Design and a City of Literature, respectively.

The project will comprise two phases. First in Reykjavik, where Ms. Grenier will meet with emerging creators who are part of the city’s effervescent design and literature communities, and study ways in which local materials can be used to tell stories—those of local authors but also those of the city. She will also investigate the canon of contemporary nordic texts and the material specificity of the Icelandic urban environment. This first phase will lead to a collection of samples into a materials library, to be shown at the DesignMarch festival in Reykjavik in March 2015. For the second phase, the designer will return to Montréal during the winter months to effect a dialogue between these two nordic members of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, and validate the approach developed in Reykjavik. The materials library will be enhanced as a result, and an initial collection of narrative objects emblematic of Montréal–Reykjavik will be created and shown in Montréal.