MICHÈLE COURNOYER

Michèle Cournoyer (born November 14, 1943) is a Canadian animator who on 1 March 2017 received a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts for her body of work.
Born in Saint-Joseph-de-Sorel, Quebec, Cournoyer began drawing at the age of five, and started painting at 12 when she was hospitalized, and her father bought her an oil paint set. At the age of 17, she had to halt her art education when her mother became ill, with Cournoyer caring for her ailing mother and the family. Her mother died when Cournoyer was 20 years of age. After two years studying in Quebec City, she moved to Montreal, then to London to study graphic arts.
Studying in London during the 1960s, she was influenced by Pop Art, the Dada movement and surrealism. During the 1970s she worked as a set designer, art director, costume designer and screenwriter for several Quebec-based film companies.