CONTRA | Top 40 Under 40 2024

She is a creative tour de force, putting Calgary on the map in visual art and music.

Photo by Jared Sych. Location: Eau Claire Tower.

Age: 33

Occupation: Creative Director and Co-founder, FOREIGNERZ; Creative Director, BUMP Festival; musician

Obsessively partaking in Calgary’s arts scene since childhood has led CONTRA to a resounding conclusion: this city needs diverse voices now, more than ever. “We see ourselves creating and shifting the culture for the future,” she says.

Born in Tamil Nadu in India, CONTRA (Priya Ramesh) has lived in Calgary since she was seven. Her experience of sneaking into Sled Island Festival shows came full-circle in 2018 when she, alongside sister Eboshi/Bee Ramesh, debuted as Cartel Madras, an experimental hip-hop project informed by their many identities, including being South Indian and queer.

This led to a record deal with American music label Sub Pop, three EPs with more than 7 million streams, and more than 110 shows worldwide — including one in India last year alongside global hip-hop superstar, M.I.A.

Music is just one of CONTRA’s artistic pursuits. In 2020, she co-founded the art and production house FOREIGNERZ, which has helped create 30-plus productions, such as Dispatches from the Calgary Underground (2021), that feature BIPOC and marginalized artists at the forefront.

Since 2021, she has also worked with BUMP (Beltline Urban Murals Project) to bring Calgary to life through more than 300 public art installations and a multi-day festival full of accessible visual art, music, block parties and rooftop parties. Her programming work with BUMP includes diverse artists from around the world and right down the block, growing Calgary’s reputation worldwide while fostering a locally empowered arts community. Additionally, this past summer, she was named Calgary Public Library’s 2024 Filmmaker in Residence.

CONTRA’s polymath artistic output isn’t just creating a vibrant Calgary; it’s forging a future for artists of all backgrounds to thrive.

“The demographic leading the [arts] charge has never been seen here before,” she says. “It’s important for us to find ways to create more spaces for those voices to shine through.”

Thank yous
“Jae, Eman, Ryan, my sister, Bee, and my mother, Geetha.”

 

Top 40 Under 40 2024

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Learn more about the people and organizations moving Calgary forward with Avenue's Innovation Newsletter.

This article appears in the November 2024 issue of Avenue Calgary.

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