Monika Meyer

Monika Meyer started in modeling, theatre, and music (singing and piano) when she was 5 years of age. She started playing the saxophone at the age of 11 and was involved in a number of theatre groups, choirs, and bands until the age of 18. She also took classes in guitar at the age of 20 and was later the lead singer in a band. When she was 16, Monika became involved in the film world. Monika endured a lot of struggles growing up, but music, acting, and visual art was her life line and how she describes surviving a rough childhood. Monika has said, "No matter how hard everything else was, how many people left me, or how many people I had to leave behind, the arts were always there for me, they were always easy, and they made everything feel worth it." Monika started excelling as a visual artist at the age of 13 and instructed art classes for 8 years in different places, including running an after school art program for children in Uganda. Social Justice, politics and social welfare have always been at the forefront of Monika's interests. In high school she took a special interest in African studies, and this continued into university where she did extensive studies in African history, colonization, and the current state of affairs. Her research focused on Rwanda, Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, Democratic Republic of The Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, South Africa, Kenya, Somalia, and Mozambique. She was part of an anti-genocide campaign group at the end of high school and throughout university called STAND, and worked with an organization called Childlife Network as well. Monika took Social Justice and Peace at Western University in London, Ontario and graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work. She has continued to support social justice endeavors, but the arts are her first love. Monika hopes to ultimately bridge the arts and social justice/social welfare by engaging in projects that support both these entities and are socially responsible, she also hopes to be able to support more organizations and spread the word about important issues through her presence in the film/music industry. Around the age of 25 Monika began painting sets and props, art directing and producing. She is now the co-director of the production company Saving Monty Productions. Monika says about working in the film/music industry, "I hope to make meaningful art, projects that people can relate to, meanwhile, I hope to build a fantastic team that works well together and help everyone have a good experience so that we all love our jobs and at the end of the night feel good about what we have created."