Material Assemblages before and after the Human
A Symposium as part of our exhibition, Oscillation

Hosted within the evolving environment of the Oscillation exhibition, Material Assemblages before and after the Humaninvites participants to engage in conversations that move between matter and meaning, process and form.

The program explores the entangled dynamics of bodies, materials, and environments, focusing on how artistic and critical practices respond to ecological transformations, infrastructures, and sensory experience.

The exhibition acts as a shifting ground for these discussions by creating an active space shaped by the interplay of flows, energies, and collaborative practices. The conference foregrounds modes of thinking and making that engage with the porosity of the boundaries between the human and the non-human by emphasizing practices that attend to interdependence, permeability, and transformation. It highlights approaches that refuse fixed categories, instead embracing fluid, relational processes that challenge dominant hierarchies and imagine alternative forms of coexistence, interdependence, and agency.

The scientific direction of the symposium is provided by Samuel Bianchini, Marie-Pier Boucher, and Alice Jarry, co-guest curators of the Oscillation exhibition.

Program:

9:15-9:30: Coffee

 9:30-9:45: Welcome and introductions

Welcome by Catherine Bédard (Canadian Cultural Center-Paris), Marie-Pier Boucher (University of Toronto, Canada), Samuel Bianchini (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts décoratifs – PSL, France), and Alice Jarry (Concordia University, Canada)

9:45-10:00: Short intro of the exhibition and its history concerning Fossilation (Centre Pompidou), history of the research projects and themes that bring us together + presentation of the place of research-creation in Canada and abroad

Alice Jarry (Concordia University, Canada)
Géraldine Gomez (Centre Pompidou)

10:00-10:45 – Keynote 1

Patricia Ribault (Université Paris VIII, France), Title TBA

Introduction and Q&A, Samuel Bianchini (École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris – PSL, France)

10:45-11:00: Break

11:00 – 12:00: Roundtable 1: More-than-human Assemblages

Moderator: Jacqui Beaumont (Concordia University, Canada)

Participants: Sofian Audry (Université du Québec à Montreal, Canada), Jane Tingley (York University, Canada), Joel Ong (University of Victoria, Canada) Alex Bachmayer (Concordia University, Canada)

12:00-12:15 Break

 12:15 – 13:00 Roundtable 2: Mattering Energies

Moderator: Samuel Bianchini (École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris – PSL, France)

Participants: Raphaëlle Kerbrat (École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs de Paris – PSL, France), Audrey Coulombe (Concordia University, Canada), Matthew Halpenny (Concordia University, Canada)

 13:00-14:30 Lunch

 14:30 – 15:30: Roundtable 3: Imagination, Affection, Bodies

Moderator: Marie-Pier Boucher (University of Toronto, Canada)

Participants: Edwige Armand (Université Gustave Eiffel), Jacqui Beaumont (Concordia University, Canada), Danny Perreault (Université du Québec à Montreal, Canada), Lee wilkins (University of Toronto, Canada),

15:30-15:45 Break

 15:45-16:45 Roundtable 4: Meaningful Waste and Residuals

Moderator: Alice Jarry (Concordia University, Canada)

Participants: Brice Ammar Khodja (Concordia University, Canada), Vanessa Mardirossian (Concordia University, Canada), Aurélie Mosse (EnsadLab – PSL University),  Lea Perraudin and Iva Resetar (Humboldt University, Germany)

16:45 – 17:00 Break

17:00-17:45 Keynote 2

Monika Bakke (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland), Title TBA

Introduction and Q&A, Marie-Pier Boucher (University of Toronto, Canada)

 17:45-19:00: Cocktail

Speakers :

• Brice Ammar Khodja (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Edwige Armand (Université Gustave Eiffel, France)
• Sofian Audry (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
• Alex Bachmayer (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Monika Bakke (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Pologne)
• Jacqui Beaumont (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Samuel Bianchini (École des arts décoratifs – PSL, France)
• Marie-Pier Boucher (University of Toronto, Canada)
• Audrey Coulombe (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Géraldine Gomez (Centre Pompidou, France)
• Matthew Halpenny (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Alice Jarry (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Raphaëlle Kerbrat (École des arts décoratifs – PSL, France)
• Vanessa Mardirossian (Université Concordia, Canada)
• Aurélie Mosse (École des arts décoratifs – PSL, France)
• Joel Ong (University of Victoria, Canada)
• Lea Perraudin (Humboldt University, Allemagne)
• Danny Perreault (Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada)
• Iva Resetar (Humboldt University, Allemagne)
• Patricia Ribault (Université Paris VIII, France)
• Jane Tingley (York University, Canada)
• Lee Wilkins (University of Toronto, Canada)