How can we imagine new forms of collaboration between human, artificial, environmental, and collective intelligences?
This question is at the heart of Symbioses of Intelligences, a wide-ranging research-creation project presented at ccdMalvina during the summer of 2026.
Bringing together artists, scientists, researchers, and immersive technology specialists, the project transforms the Malvina territory into a living laboratory where contemporary creation, artificial intelligence, ecology, heritage, and a sensory experience of landscape converge.
From July 5 to August 23, 2026, visitors will discover the work of artists in residence developing new pieces inspired by the ecosystems, history, and landscapes of Malvina. Through installations, performances, participatory workshops, conferences, and public gatherings, Symbioses of Intelligences invites everyone to reflect on the profound transformations redefining our relationship to the living world, to memory, and to technology.
The project explores the possibilities offered by generative artificial intelligence, immersive environments, and collaborative practices. The artists and researchers gathered at Malvina examine both the creative potential of these tools and their ethical, social, and environmental implications.
Among the activities on offer:
- a workshop on artificial intelligence in artistic creation led by Guillaume Lévesque (Sporobole), a specialist in digital technologies applied to the arts;
- a participatory experience with Karen Vanderborght and Emmanuelle Martin, inviting the public to learn a folk dance generated by artificial intelligence;
- collective creation workshops with artists Royden Mills and Sean Caulfield;
- public discussions on the relationships between artistic creation, the environment, immersive technologies, and artificial intelligence;
- meetings with artists in residence and presentations of their new works.
The project reaches its culmination at the Festival Malvina, on August 22 and 23, 2026. Artists, researchers, and immersive technology specialists will gather to share their reflections and creations. A major roundtable moderated by anthropologist Isabelle Lemelin will bring together Marek Blottière (SAT), Hela Zahar (Université de l’Ontario français), Sean Caulfield, Royden Mills, Karen Vanderborght, Thom Gossage, and Isabelle Van Grimde around the links between art, artificial intelligence, environment, and territory.
By fostering exchange between disciplines, knowledge systems, and forms of intelligence, Symbioses of Intelligences offers a space for reflection and experimentation where art becomes a tool for imagining futures that are more sensitive, more collaborative, and more deeply connected to the living world.
Guest Artists
- Royden Mills (Alberta)
- Sean Caulfield (Alberta)
- Karen Vanderborght (Ontario–Quebec)
- Isabelle Van Grimde, with Emmanuelle Martin and Thom Gossage (Quebec)
View the artist biographies
Guest Researchers and Specialists
- Guillaume Lévesque (Sporobole, Quebec)
- Hela Zahar (Université de l’Ontario français, Ontario)
- Marek Blottière (Société des arts technologiques – SAT, Quebec)
- Isabelle Lemelin (Saint Paul University, Ontario)
View the researcher biographies
Works developed as part of Symbioses of Intelligences
Through residencies, workshops, and interdisciplinary collaborations, Symbioses of Intelligences gives rise to a series of works and experiments exploring the relationships between body, territory, memory, emerging technologies, and artificial intelligence.
Le Cheval de Malvina
Alberta-based artist Royden Mills is developing a life-size sculpture inspired by the draft horse that shaped the agricultural history of Malvina. Created in part with artificial intelligence tools, the work opens an unprecedented dialogue between rural heritage, collective memory, and contemporary technologies. Presented in the trail Malvina in the Old Days, it speaks to how digital tools can contribute to reinterpreting the history of a territory.
Primal Body / Future Body
The immersive trail Primal Body / Future Body is undergoing significant renewal. Images inspired by the choreographic works of Van Grimde Corps Secrets and the landscapes of Malvina are transformed through generative artificial intelligence to create new representations of the body in constant mutation. The trail is enriched with virtual reality experiences drawn from the MESSIS and Wild Intelligences projects, as well as scientific content on the connections between trees and humans.
Body Territory
The new outdoor artistic trail Body Territory brings together sound installations, sculptures, prints, poetry, and immersive works created by Sean Caulfield, Isabelle Van Grimde, Thom Gossage, and their collaborators. The trail offers a sensory exploration of the interactions between the human body, landscapes, the memory of place, and the technological transformations shaping our era.
Artificial Intelligence, Movement, and Collective Creation
Through a series of workshops and gatherings, the invited artists explore new ways of collaborating with artificial intelligence in creative processes. Visitors will have the opportunity to take part in a movement experience developed by Karen Vanderborght and Emmanuelle Martin, in which a folk dance generated by artificial intelligence becomes material for transmission, interpretation, and collective creation.
Art, Research, and Emerging Technologies
The project also fosters dialogue between the arts, the humanities, and digital technologies. Researchers, artists, and immersive environment specialists gather throughout the season to share their reflections on the ethical, ecological, and cultural dimensions of artificial intelligence. These exchanges culminate at the Festival Malvina with a major roundtable devoted to the relationships between art, artificial intelligence, environment, and territory.
