Our team

Ariel Lefebvre is an opera singer and a graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. Since his start at the Machinerie in 2019, Ariel has developed an expertise in cultural management, specializing in grant applications and the analysis of the needs of both organizations and individual artists in the performing arts. His ability to communicate, combined with his knowledge of good management practices, has allowed him to help and support dozens of creators and companies over the years.

Parallel to his role as cultural manager, which he has fully taken on since his first experience as administrative coordinator for the vocal ensemble Les Rugissants, Ariel develops his own artistic projects as a creator and producer. He is mainly interested in applying a multidisciplinary approach to lyric arts in which the performer is not limited to singing on stage. To this end, he is a founding member of the new Canadian-Italian collective Corifea, whose mission is to present vocal arts in an alternative way.

ariel@machineriedesarts.ca
(514) 907-4783 #203

Interested in poetry and the possibility of playing with words from a very young age, Brice Noeser became attached to languages and the invention of languages to create his own worlds. He then crossed paths with dance and made it his discipline in Quebec. After graduating from the École de danse de Québec (2006), he developed a gestural writing that makes sense in his body and in abstract universes. The duet with Karina Iraola, Ruminant Ruminant (2014) marked a turning point in his practice, digging into the notion of mental overload and the obsession of discourse. 

While pursuing various creation and production projects with collaborators in Quebec and internationally, his career is enriched by different professional experiences that connect him to his interest in language, notably in translation, after a year-long program at the University of Montreal in 2016, and in teaching French in private classes. At the same time, while developing new customer service skills, he held a role at the reception for Place des arts for 4 years. Since 2020, he has been perfecting his management and governance skills through his role as assistant to the director at Créations Estelle Clareton.

brice@machineriedesarts.ca
(514) 907-4783 #206

Yvonne Patel is a multidisciplinary artist who is inspired by various forms of transitions found in nature, identity and culture. She constructs from her perceptions and lived experiences, and expresses them through poetry, performance, writing, textiles, painting, and drawing. 

She has a degree in business administration and her professional experience spans the fields of technology, education, hospitality and event management. Passionate about languages from an early age and after much reflection during the pandemic, Yvonne decided to move to Montreal in 2021 and began learning French. 

Through her role as Liaison Agent, she seeks to develop her understanding of the arts sector, while applying her skillset to support the team towards enriching relationships with its community of artists and cultural workers.

yvonne@machineriedesarts.ca
(514) 907-4783 #207

Perrine Cadiou est médiatrice culturelle. Elle s’épanouit en créant des espaces de dialogue entre artistes, œuvres et publics. Après un Master en Médiation culturelle des arts, option spectacle vivant, de l’université Aix Marseille I, elle commence sa carrière au service de médiation culturelle de Très Tôt Théâtre à Quimper, avant de passer une saison au Volcan, scène nationale du Havre.

En 2015, elle rejoint le service des relations avec le public du Théâtre National de Bretagne, Centre Dramatique National, à Rennes. Pendant sept ans et demi, elle développe des projets de médiation et d’éducation artistique auprès de divers publics. Elle participe également à plusieurs programmes européens, notamment sur la place de la jeunesse dans les lieux culturels en Europe.

En 2019, elle poursuit des études en parallèle de son emploi, avec un Master Médiation du spectacle vivant à l’ère du numérique à l’université de Rennes 2, où elle se spécialise dans les outils de médiation sonore. En 2023, elle travaille comme Gérante de salle au théâtre de Quat’Sous et coordinatrice administrative à Diversité Artistique Montréal. Elle rejoint l’équipe de la Machinerie des Arts en tant que conseillère et chargée des projets de Cartographies Organisationnelles et de la Transition Écologique.

perrine@machineriedesarts.ca

Michael Toppings is a writer, artist and cultural worker having worked as a curator, programmer and managing director for some 25 years. He has developed a practice within the non-profit cultural sector working for various performing and visual arts organizations located in the provinces of Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec. Having developed expertise in the areas of project conception and programming, administration, production, tour development, project management, etc., Toppings now focuses on sharing and transmitting his knowledge and experience to future generations of artists in all disciplines.

michael@machineriedesarts.ca
(514) 907-4783 #208