How to mediate the banal? Inspired by Heather Davis’s forthcoming piece, Banal Violence: Breathing Plastic Air, this two-day workshop invites participants to investigate materiality as both object and method of study. Together, we will critically engage with the question of material banality through hands-on investigation and collective creation. Inspired by Rob Nixon’s seminal concept of […]
We will be looking at the light board, the audio mixer, and how to use these with some of the software that is accessible on the iMac computer in your work in the Performance Lab. The first section of the workshop introduces participants to the gear and equipment, and the second half, we’ll experiment and […]
Program: Chantier Ecotechnologies and Speculative Life Cluster are pleased to welcome interdisciplinary researcher Heather Davis (United States) and independent curator Juliette Bibasse (Belgium). 12:30 – 2 PM | Heather Davis Keynote: Producing Plastic Air Heather Davis talk will explore how one plastic cup factory produces plastic air, and the consequences for how we think about waste, plastic, air quality, and bodily […]
How to mediate the banal? Inspired by Heather Davis’s forthcoming piece, Banal Violence: Breathing Plastic Air, this two-day workshop invites participants to investigate materiality as both object and method of study. Together, we will critically engage with the question of material banality through hands-on investigation and collective creation. Inspired by Rob Nixon’s seminal concept of […]
Together with the Speculative Life Research Cluster, the Hexagram Chantier Ecotechnologies warmly invites you to join us for the closing remarks of the knowledge mobilization series Environmental Materials and/as Methods. This series has brought together diverse research platforms—the Concordia University Ethnography Lab, Machine Agencies, the Critical Anthropocene Research Group, and the Speculative Life Biolab—to explore shared questions around material practices, environmental inquiry, […]
The future of artificial intelligence remains unclear. But one thing is certain: the technology is bound to fail if it’s not shaped by an abundance of knowledges and imaginaries. The Abundant Intelligences research program – which advances methods of developing culturally-grounded AI systems to support Indigenous ways of knowing – aims to contribute to such […]
Embodied Interventions, LePARC’s signature event, is coming back for its 7th edition on May 15 & 16! Curated by Hannah Schallert and Casper Fosman-Sutton this year’s program, titled (Re)animating Performance, will focus on the overlapping spaces between labour and performance. The work of animation, and the animation of work: to animate a space, to be […]
Join Nadia Trudel for a 2-hour workshop on finding the words for your creative practice. Creating art is innate, but how do you talk about it with committees, curators, or even your grandmother? Knowing how to effectively describe your artistic practice is an essential skillset for a professional artist. By drawing on narrative tropes and […]
Join us for our Annual General Meeting on May 20th! Come enjoy some pizza while we showcase the proofs of the latest Milieux Annual Report (2024-2025). May 20, 2026 12-2 PM Milieux Resource Room EV 11.705
Focusing on the concept of General Audience Iterations Artificial Infantilism (GAIAi), Ian Haig and Adam Zaretsky will examine how contemporary AI systems are shaped by content moderation, platform governance, and cultural expectations around safety and accessibility. Censorship and AI, obsolete models, using AI the wrong way, ugly AI and the interior body as an antidote […]
A workshop exploring the lexicon of forbidden imagery with Adam Zaretsky. This workshop, led by Adam Zaretsky, will engage participants in both individual and collaborative experiments in prompt poetry, followed by critical exchanges around AI‑generated imagery, video, and other media. It will examine the combined effects of data glut and human curation when confronted […]
Interviews are one of the most valuable and versatile skills you can develop—whether you’re conducting interviews for your thesis, you’re producing a documentary project, you want to start a podcast, or you’re looking to become a better conversationalist. Drawing on journalism techniques, this practical workshop led by Milieux Storyteller Nadia Trudel will teach participants how […]