The Milieux Institute is thrilled to announce our undergraduate fellowship recipients for 2023-24. This year’s cohort, representing over six academic departments, embodies the creative diversity and critical social engagement that define the Institute. Covering topics from performance design and sustainable garment-making to data physicalizations and creative AI exploration, each fellow enriches both their cluster and Milieux at large. We proudly welcome them as the next generation of critical and creative researchers.
During these times of multifaceted global crises, it is of note that so many of the Fellows’ practices and projects share a common concern for exploring storytelling as a powerful multimodal medium to address collective issues. We are inspired by their commitment to engage in interdisciplinary and collaborative research at the intersection of arts, technology and culture, and to imagine and forge shared alternative futures.
The fellowship recognizes undergraduate students who are already engaging in compelling work in their respective research clusters. Each student, nominated by Milieux’s faculty affiliates, receives a monetary stipend, as well as access to Milieux’s resources to develop their projects over the 2023-2024 year. In January, we’ll be organizing an informal event to introduce the fellows to the Milieux community, open to all of our members and staff. We will ensure that Fellows are supported and uplifted, and feel warmly welcomed to the Institute!
THE FELLOWS
Carolie Delisle (LePARC)
Carolie Delisle (she/her) is a Canadian-born designer and artist currently based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal, studying a BFA in Design for the Theatre and a BFA in Fibers and Material Practice. With nearly a decade of experience in IT database management, she returned to her studies to blend her background in systems analysis and technology with her passion for fiber practices. Carolie aspires to develop innovative interdisciplinary curricula for performance design, emphasizing sustainable practices. Proficient in various technical skills, including fiber transformation, drafting, 3D modeling, website design, and electronics, she constantly explores and redefines her perspective on the world, her artistic practice, and her relationship to art.
Noémie Carrier (Textiles and Materiality)
Noémie Carrier (she/her) is a second-year Computation Arts student with a background in fashion design. “I approach my work as an interdisciplinary designer. I love delving into the realms of the body, nature, and interactive experiences, often exploring wearable technology through my art. My creative style thrives on exploration, especially within the garment-making process, where I use technology in innovative ways.” Noémie’s research delves into how garments and virtual avatars shape one’s identity, particularly at the fascinating crossroads of gender expression and internet culture.
Neko Wong-Houle (Indigenous Futures)
Neko Wong-Houle (she/they) is a queer, registered band member of the Blackfoot, Kainai Nation, with Ojibwe, Chinese, and Romanian ancestry. Currently based in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal), Quebec, Neko is pursuing studies in film animation with a focus on developing a multimedia practice. Their primary interests lie in animation, storytelling, and fine arts. Growing up frequenting her reservation, the Kainai Nation, Neko was exposed to the culture and traditional practices of her Niitsitapi People. Today, they continue to engage with the Indigenous community through their work at the Otsénhakta Student Centre and more recently at the Indigenous Futures Research Centre (IFRC).
Taylor McArthur (Indigenous Futures)
Taylor McArthur (Niná wašte šiyo poǧa hą́ska wíya/hummingbird woman) Nakoda of Pheasant Rump Nakota First Nation, is a digital artist who works at the intersection of 3D animation, video game design and video. Her developing body of work is evocative of Indigenous Futurisms and seeks to situate her Indigenous culture within both the modern and a potential future vision. She’s received the 2023 Platform Photography Award, 2022 Emerging Digital Artists Award and the 2022 Winnipeg Arts Council’s RBC On the Rise Award.
Akiva Shannon (Post Image)
Akiva Shannon is a Fine Arts undergraduate majoring in photography. As a descendant of a Holocaust survivor, Shannon’s familial history has been the central focus of his research based approach to image making and visual story telling for several years. His work is concerned with systems of power, utilizing diverse archives to visually suggest their invested meanings. During the fellowship, Akiva aims to create a body of work examining displacement, identity politics, immigration, and intergenerational trauma through a study of archival material related to his grandfather’s story.
Isabelle Anguita (Post Image)
Isabelle Anguita is completing her BFA at Concordia in Fine Arts, with a major in Studio Arts. Isabelle returned to academic studies after focusing on fine arts, particularly painting, in the south of France, her place of origin. Having lived in Montreal for almost 30 years, she has worked in various cultural and community fields while building a painting career, participating in solo and group exhibitions in Quebec and Ontario. In recent years, Isabelle has expanded her practice to installation and sculpture, exploring our relationship with the immediate environment and the multidimensional imprints it leaves on us. One of Isabelle’s current projects within Milieux involves creating an eco-auto-ethnographic archive. Through this work, Isabelle aims to offer the opportunity to renew our connections with other living beings, presenting a unique perspective on the traces we leave in our environment and the reciprocal impact it has on us.
Ella Noyes (TAG)
Ella Noyes is a third-year Computer Engineering student. Their focus at TAG involves researching how a Minecraft modding framework has evolved as well as developing game mods. Their most recent creation integrates data from a solar-powered Minecraft server into gameplay. Viewing software as cultural artifacts, Ella is passionate about preserving the history of the information age by finding solutions to adapt obsolete programs to newer frameworks. Game modding, for them, is a form of self-expression and a practical way to teach programming. In their free time, Ella enjoys creating whimsical mods like “Baby Carrots,” exploring software and hardware design constructs along the way.
kamyar “noak” karimi (TAG)
Kamyar “Noak” Karimi, specializing in Computation Arts, is a digital storyteller who explores storytelling within the context of lived human experiences, connecting us to the global network. “All stories are human produced and all humans come from the stories they tell.” Noak’s versatile career spans programming, game design, and sound design, with current contributions at LabLabLab (an interactive narrative research group), and previous roles at various game studios and institutes. Using code and sound, he actively explores and expands storytelling possibilities in the realm of new media.
Gabrielle Simard (Speculative Life)
Gabrielle Simard is a BFA student in the Design and Computation Arts Department. She brings a background in data analysis, having earned a PhD in astrophysics. Gabrielle aims to push the boundaries of traditional data visualization methodologies by delving into the creation of data physicalizations. Beyond tangible data representations, her research interests encompass art-science collaborations, complex network systems, and infrastructure studies.
Chloe Marchal (Speculative Life)
Hi, my name is Chloe and I am a fourth-year anthropology student and first year Intermedia student. I am passionate about digital culture, art, and its intersections. At the same time, I hope to combine new skills learnt in my Intermedia degree to enhance the ways in which I approach ethnography. I am currently writing my undergraduate thesis on Creative AI and its environmental footprint. During my time at Milieux I hope to learn more about visual methods and research-creation. Outside of school I draw, paint and make zines.
