Martine Giguère

• Interviewed on April 12, 2022

Martine Giguère, born 1951, is from Québec, Canada. She is a carpenter and an artist at heart. She first visited the Pagoda, a lesbian intentional community in St. Augustine, Florida, in the summer 1985, with her then-partner, Myriam Fougère.

Martine Giguère was part of a lesbian land group in Quebec, living on rural land with no utilities, when she met Myriam Fougère. They belonged to a lesbian co-operative and a lesbian theatre group in Montréal, Canada. They attended many women’s music festivals, where Martine worked as a carpenter.

When Martine and Myriam first visited the Pagoda in St. Augustine, Florida, in 1985, they stayed from May through July. They returned to the Pagoda the following summer, when Martine exhibited collages on boxes and postcards. Martine developed carpentry skills at the Pagoda and worked with Pagoda residents Rena Carney, Rainbow Williams, and Dore Rotundo on construction projects.

Martine Giguère partnered with Deb Ennis, “Flame,” in the summer of 1986,  and they moved to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 1989, Martine moved back to Montréal, Canada, where she began a more than thirty-year-long job doing carpentry in the Montréal film industry.

In 1999, Martine and Myriam became partners again for twelve years, including visits to the Pagoda. Remaining friends, both of them are now with other partners.