EXPERIENCE

Sika Valmé is a contemporary Créole-Canadian artist, and creative director driven by culture, education and innovation. Her work is conceptual in nature, taking inspiration from an eclectic range of sources, and presents as a nuanced, cross-disciplinary composition of visuals, sound, and language, created to be experienced collectively. Erosion Eksperyans (2022) – her most recent body of work, is a crafted collection of timeless narrative including a 6-track EP, mixed media video animations, and hand-drawn illustrations.

Valmé was born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Having been established in Quebec since 2001, she now shares her time between Montreal, Vancouver and Mexico City. Informed by her migrations, Sika’s creations develop from a unique creole aesthetic shaped by her diasporic journey, also drawing on geometry, the organic world, and the human experience.

The music inErosion Eksperyans, synergizes opposing elements to create an unconventional take on Haitian and Caribbean rhythms. The graphics compliment her music with colourful imagery that plays with the same tensions between disparate geographies and cultures. This approach, paired with Sika’s distinct vocal styling, has positioned her as a creative leader, and collaborative partner, pioneering ideas.

Moroccan-Canadian singer, songwriter and performer El Mehdi fuses modern pop with North African influences into a magnetic, defiant and cathartic sound. With honey-laced vocals and a fearless vision, he crafts unmistakable music that transcends borders and genres.

Revealed by his single EL KASS HLOU, he quickly emerged as a defining voice of the diaspora. With ENCORE, accompanied by a self-directed music video created in collaboration with the Pierre Bergé Museum of Berber Arts (Fondation Jardin Majorelle), he further affirmed a crystalline, uncompromising artistic vision. A former spokesperson for Amnesty International Canada, El Mehdi has presented work at TIFF, BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica, and Amsterdam Dance Event, and performed at major festivals across Canada.

Described as “a rising star” (Radio-Canada), “a quiet revolution far from clichés” (ICON MENA), and “visceral, emblematic of a generation” (L’Orient Today), his work explores themes of identity, visibility and heritage. Vogue Arabia praised his ability to “move with grace and intention,” while The New Arab described “his very presence as an act of subversion.”

On stage as in the studio, in front of and behind the camera, El Mehdi defies social and cultural expectations. His performances are immersive and emotive — almost devotional — where music becomes ritual and the stage a sanctuary. Through bold storytelling and undeniable presence, he creates spaces where identities expand and audiences leave transformed.

With his debut EP SALAM, at the crossroads of tradition and reinvention — where chaâbi rhythms, Amazigh motifs and Gnawa choirs meet dance pulses, electronic textures and cinematic arrangements — El Mehdi ushers in a new era: free, radiant and indelible. A sonic elixir both incandescent and timeless. Pop that remembers where it comes from — without ever apologizing for where it is going.