From Canada to Paris: Meet Mark Norman Harris
In this episode, I sit down with Mark Norman Harris, a Canadian artist, musician, and comedian currently based in Paris. From Toronto to Nepal to Sicily, Mark has followed an unconventional path, blending humor, music, storytelling, and social critique into his work.
Today, he’s not just performing — he’s building spaces for other artists, including an experimental artist residency in Sicily.
We talk about:
- How a love story (that didn’t quite work out) first brought him to Paris
- His early days in the spoken word and stand-up comedy scene
- Running an artist house in the Himalayas before an earthquake changed everything
- His dream of creating a rural artist residency in Sicily
Nepal, Earthquakes, and the First Artist House
Before Paris, Mark spent significant time in Nepal, studying Himalayan religions and building his first vision of an artist community.
He found a house in the mountains, rented it for a year, and transformed it into a space for artists to live, create, and share. Just as the space was ready, a massive earthquake struck. Within seconds, the house collapsed.
Instead of leaving, Mark stayed and shifted into relief work, helping local communities rebuild and organizing support in a village deeply affected by the disaster.
This experience shaped his understanding of:
- Impermanence (very Tibetan Buddhist sand mandala energy)
- The fragile nature of creative spaces
- How art and community can still flourish after loss
It also planted the seed for his ongoing dream: a rural artist residency that brings people together to create, connect, and rebuild meaning in uncertain times.
Paris, Spoken Word, and Stand-Up Comedy
When Mark later moved to Paris, it wasn’t exactly the romantic movie moment he imagined. He followed a Norwegian girlfriend to the city, only to be ghosted within the first week. But instead of running home, he stayed — with a work holiday visa, some savings, and a lot of stubbornness.
He found his way into the spoken word scene, especially at Spoken Word Paris, an open mic where writers, musicians, and performers share their work. There, he started mixing:
- Spoken word
- Music
- Comedy songs
Because so many readings were intense and heavy, Mark began using humor to lighten the mood — and that naturally led to stand-up comedy across Europe. Over time, he performed in more than 10 countries, often touring English-language comedy nights and mixed art events across the continent. SpokenWord Paris
Touring Europe: Comedy, Music, and Cultural Differences
Mark talks candidly about what it’s really like to tour as a comedian and musician in Europe:
- It’s part adventure, part logistics: booking shows via Facebook, hopping between trains, buses, and budget flights
- Audiences vary wildly from France to the Netherlands, Germany, and the Baltic states
- In some countries, English humor lands easily; in others, the political and historical context makes jokes more delicate
He also touches on the melancholy side of touring: it can be lonely, unstable, and not nearly as glamorous as Instagram suggests.
Yet, those experiences helped shape his voice — part storyteller, part critic, part song-and-dance man who uses humor to say serious things about society, alienation, and technology.
Comedy as Coping (and When It Goes Too Far)
One of my favorite parts of our conversation is when Mark describes comedy as a pain response.
For him, comedy is:
- A way to process unpredictable life events — from earthquakes to heartbreak
- A tool to transform cultural clashes and awkwardness into shared laughter
- A way to slide social critique into something people are willing to listen to
But he also warns about “irony poisoning” — when everything becomes a joke and nothing feels serious anymore. Like any powerful tool, comedy can help us cope… or help us avoid.
Building an Artist Residency in Sicily
Fast forward to today: Mark has bought a house in Troina, Sicily, where he’s slowly building what he calls an experimental artist residency — Art House Troina. Instagram
His vision is simple and beautiful:
- Create an affordable, rural base where artists can come together
- Host summer residencies, concerts, exhibitions, and gatherings
- Turn the house itself into a kind of living museum, where each artist leaves work on the walls and in the space
- Eventually attract a small cluster of artists who might buy houses in the same village and form a micro creative community
So far he’s:
- Hosted artists over the past two summers
- Organized small exhibitions and concerts for locals
- Started bridging the gap between visiting artists and the village community
The locals’ reactions range from amused curiosity (especially when visiting artists show up in very un-Sicilian shorts) to genuine support and enthusiasm for what’s being created in their town.
Why Create Spaces Instead of Just Performing in Them?
Instead of only performing in existing venues, Mark loves building creative spaces from scratch.
He sees it as a kind of social practice art:
- The project isn’t just the art itself — it’s the community that forms around it
- As more artists live, create, and leave pieces of their work in the house, the space becomes a collective artwork
- Over time, the residency takes on a life of its own, shaped by everyone who passes through
It’s art as infrastructure: a small, real-world antidote to isolation, passive consumption, and screen addiction.
Creativity, AI, and the Human Need to Make Things
We also explore what creativity means to Mark:
For him, creativity is the act of giving form to what’s inside you — taking something from your imagination and bringing it into the physical world. That process creates a bridge between your inner world and your outer environment.
We touch on AI and creativity as well:
- AI can mimic styles and generate images or songs, but it also risks making images feel less trustworthy
- As AI-generated content becomes indistinguishable from “real” images, people may start craving authentic, human experiences and live performance even more
- In a strange way, AI might eventually push people back toward real-life art, communities, and gatherings
Advice for Young Creatives Who Want to Take Risks
Mark doesn’t romanticize the creative path. His advice is honest and refreshing:
- Think of a life in the arts as a vocation, almost like becoming a monk
- Be prepared for instability, uncertainty, and sacrifice
- Understand you might not hit the conventional milestones of adulthood in the usual order (steady job, house, car, kids)
- Realize that each project is a prototype — there’s no tenure, no permanent guarantee
But for those who feel deeply called to this life, he also reminds us that:
- Community and creativity can be deeply redemptive
- Living a creative life is about engagement, not certainty
- You’re working in service of something mostly invisible: meaning, connection, and beauty
How to Connect with Mark Norman Harris
Want to follow Mark’s work or learn more about his artist residency in Sicily? Here’s where to find him:
- 🎸 Instagram (personal): @marknormanharris – songs, jokes, illustrations, and glimpses of his life in Paris and Sicily Instagram
- 🏡 Art House Troina (artist residency): @arthousetroina – updates on the residency, exhibitions, and artist projects in Troina, Sicily Instagram
- 🎧 Listen to his music on Apple Music: Mark Norman Harris on Apple Music Apple Music – Web Player
- 🎵 Beatport: Mark Norman Harris on Beatport Beatport
- 🎼 Audiomack: Mark Norman Harris on Audiomack Audiomack
(You can also search “Mark Norman Harris” on Spotify and other major platforms to find his tracks and albums.)
