Using creativity to raise awareness

Dominic
Tremblay

Co-founder, TUX Creative Co. and TUX Karma - Chairman, TUX Karma

Who better to speak about our board members than their peers? We asked Sarah, TUX Karma's Lead of Development and Operations, to introduce Dominic Tremblay, President of TUX Karma's Board of Directors.

"I've had the privilege of meeting many talented entrepreneurs, and some private company leaders who share a vision of the world rooted in a deep desire for justice and solidarity. However, it's rare to work in the communications industry for a company president with a history of volunteering, activism - Dom hates it when I use this word; his imposter syndrome kicks in as soon as we talk about it! - and who is trying to transform their business model in service of social progress because they genuinely believe it's the right thing to do. This has only happened to me once - with Dominic.

In fact, Dom is very discreet about all of this. It was only by chance, while working with him over the years, that I learned he was heavily involved in the fight against AIDS since the late '80s - in Toronto, by helping to (re)launch the AIDS Walk; in Montreal, as a volunteer in various support structures for families affected by AIDS (Action Sida, Aide Directe Sida), by participating in the organization of Fashion Cares, or supporting the Farha Foundation.

That's why I trust him when he decides to launch a structure like TUX Karma: Dom didn't wait for being engaged to be "in fashion" (hello, "woke washing!") to put his convictions into action. This is what makes him credible when he explains that, in his eyes, a company cannot simply be used to create profit; it must also give back and contribute to improving the society around it. TUX Karma is one of the outcomes of this vision: a sustainable structure protected to ensure ongoing engagement and impact.

Ultimately, this way of doing things resembles Dom well: he's an entrepreneur, a man of action who needs to feel that things move forward when he gets involved. We can only rejoice in seeing all the great people he's bringing with him!"

Sophie
Bélanger

Senior Brand Marketing Director at Keurig - Secretary, TUX Karma

"Education, healthy lifestyle habits, innovation, and the environment are themes that are particularly close to my heart: they are the foundations of our future generations, and our collective future."

Who better to speak about our board members than their peers? We asked Dominic, President of TUX Karma, to introduce us to Sophie Bélanger, Senior Director of Brand Marketing at Keurig and Secretary of the Board of Directors at TUX Karma.

"Sophie is an incredible businesswoman who I've known for years and had the opportunity to work with numerous times in my career. I have tremendous respect for the entrepreneur she is, but also for the human being behind it.
If the way Sophie engages in causes she cares about seems so natural, it's because her motivations are rooted in her life's journey.
Sophie has been involved in various initiatives of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie, in the Club des petits déjeuners des écoles de sa région, or even mobilized to have a gymnasium built in her children's school (and it worked!). Sophie's sensitivity to this subject was imposed after her partner developed - and defeated - cancer only a short time after the beginning of their story. Although all this goes back more than twenty years, this period tilted Sophie's heart towards certain causes.
It's a bit the same way that she has committed to defending better access to education and promoting innovation in education. As Sophie so beautifully says, becoming the mother of "three pieces of humanity in full adolescence" led her on this path. Sophie was involved in the launch of Lab-École, a project aimed at reinventing the school of tomorrow, imagined by Pierre Thibault, Ricardo Larrivée, and Pierre Lavoie.
It's with the same fluidity that Sophie injects her convictions into her work, her role as marketing director allowing her to directly influence the development of responsible products and improve the environmental footprint of the brands she works on.
Tracing Sophie's journey reminds me of how much her presence at the TUX Karma board table is obvious. We share the same desire to make the organization, and I quote her, "a social innovation springboard that brings complementary talents together." Sophie also speaks of TUX Karma as "a creative accelerator for partner organizations or simply to start new social initiatives." That resonates with me a lot."

Danielle
Champagne

Strategic Philanthropic and Cultural Management, Communication, and Marketing Strategist

Danielle, as a cultural philanthropy strategist, communication and cultural marketing expert, and administrator of TUX Karma, the Joliette Art Museum Foundation, the National School of Theatre of Canada, and Lemieux Pilon 4D, has spent the past twenty years serving the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) and its Foundation. As a member of the MMFA management team, she has contributed to the implementation of a very proactive policy in terms of democratizing access to art and inclusion in all its forms, including the emergence of new figures that were once almost absent from art galleries and still underrepresented.

Like Danielle, I am sensitive to art - I have made design and fashion my career. Therefore, I can only have a great deal of respect for a woman who has dedicated her career to promoting the importance of art. Danielle believes that 'an artwork contributes to changing behaviors and ultimately society' and is deeply passionate about art. She has plenty of examples to back up this belief. I remember one story she told me that particularly struck me.

Danielle recounted how one day, a class of six or seven-year-old children came to the museum. Among the students was a little Syrian girl who had recently arrived in Montreal and seemed isolated from the other students. At the end of the visit, the museum team asked the children to talk about the artwork that had impacted them the most. The little Syrian girl spoke last and shared her impressions of a bronze forearm sculpture by Betty Goodwin. She explained that the sculpture reminded her of her life before the war, her country, her city, and specifically what she saw in the streets when she left home. Hearing her story, her classmates began to cry and spontaneously hugged her. Later, the teacher called the museum team to share that since the visit, the little girl had become the school's protégé.

When Danielle told me this story, she concluded by saying, 'Imagine the power of this artwork on these children, but also on their parents. I dare to believe that it helped change the way some people viewed those who are too often looked down upon - 'refugees,' 'immigrants.'' Like Danielle, I believe that an artwork, no matter how small, can have a huge impact on many people. I think this is why Danielle jumped into the TUX Karma adventure with both feet. She often tells us that, for her, 'by its creative and artistic nature,' Karma 'also has this potential' to change things.

Azamit

Creative Director and Administrator at TUX Karma

"I am constantly searching for that spark that appears in someone's eyes when they encounter the poetry of an object, material, or story for the first time."

Who better to speak about our administrators than their peers? We asked Danielle Champagne, a strategist in cultural philanthropic management and cultural communication and marketing, as well as an administrator of TUX Karma, to introduce Azamit to us.

"TUX Karma was born from the minds of professionals who use different languages - visual, verbal, sometimes even auditory or olfactory - to amplify the power of an idea. Deciding to use this expertise for social and environmental justice involves bringing together on the board of directors profiles who care about the common good (obviously), but who also have a certain perspective, a creative eye. TUX Karma needs people who know how to tell stories and captivate audiences; a particularly valuable asset when it comes to addressing complex, even anxiety-inducing or divisive subjects. This is precisely Azamit's great strength. Throughout her career, she has built a sharp aesthetic, nourished by her insatiable curiosity and her art, in order to take us on a sensory journey through all mediums - through fashion, for example, when she was fashion editor at Elle Québec and Elle Canada. And, of course, through design, as illustrated by the SOUK. What was originally just a helping hand for a friend turned into a structuring platform for Montreal design. While the design world had until then been very closed and compartmentalized, the SOUK opened it up, creating bridges between design enthusiasts and those who work in the industry (designers, artisans, architects, etc.). Every year, it is a moment where connections are made - between local designers and their audience, between Montreal and the rest of the world. One of Azamit's great sources of joy is to contribute to shedding light on what she believes in - artists as well as ideas that were previously confidential. She goes even further, explaining that "observing the reaction that passes through a face during an aesthetic, artistic, intellectual, or human discovery...moves me: I am constantly searching for that spark that appears in someone's eyes when they encounter the poetry of an object, material, or story for the first time." Once you understand all of this about Azamit, her presence on the TUX Karma board of directors makes perfect sense. Here, she has the opportunity to support local talents to develop and showcase creative projects that, in addition to being beautiful and captivating, are also just. All of this through an industry and professions that she has not yet explored - a treat for Aza!"

Ludwig
Ciupka

Co-founder, TUX Creative Co. and TUX Karma - Administrator, TUX Karma

"We all have a collective responsibility. When we are even slightly lucky and educated, we have the responsibility to act. TUX Karma is our way of doing it."

Who better to talk about our administrators than their peers? We asked Sophie Bélanger, Senior Brand Director at Keurig and Secretary of the Board of TUX Karma, to tell us a bit about Ludwig.

"I've known Ludo for years. He's a creative at heart, with all that implies: of course, he has boundless imagination, vision, and enthusiasm, but also an extraordinary sensitivity. Starting a project with Ludo means being 100% certain that you'll hear him burst out laughing at least 10 times a day; but you'll also see his eyes well up with tears when he's moved by someone or something. This empathy is a beautiful quality in general, and I find it particularly precious in an entrepreneur. It creates a nice balance with all the rational, quantifiable, and ultimately quite cold side that one must have when leading a company.

For Ludo, this empathy clearly serves as a driving force: it led him, a man from a rather privileged background, to choose to put TUX's strategic and creative teams at the service of committed projects - the Farha Foundation, the Accueil Bonneau, or Doctors of the World Canada. It's this same empathy that drives him to launch TUX Karma today. I see TUX Karma as his solution to the visceral need to combine the desire to create positive impact with his work - he has devoted the bulk of his time to TUX, the company he and Dominic founded, and that I had the pleasure of launching with them when we were just a handful of people.

If I had to sum up Ludo's motto, it would be something related to collective responsibility. He believes - and I agree with him - that when we are even slightly lucky and educated, we have the responsibility to act. TUX Karma is his way of doing it. And for those who know Dominic, his business partner and husband, it's no coincidence that these two have built all of this together.

I hope that, in the end, we'll be able to realize Ludo's vision for TUX Karma: a structure that's somewhere between an R&D department, a creative studio, and a charity organization. Can you imagine: all this time, energy, and of course, resources that will be invested in projects that, in addition to being innovative, will have a positive impact on the world we live in? How could you not buy into this vision! For the entrepreneur, citizen, and mother that I am, hearing Ludo explain to me that he wants to make TUX Karma "a machine of ideas, mixing art and progress," is extremely inspiring.