Laboratoire d’art et de recherche décoloniaux (LabARD)

2021 – Ongoing
Participatory research-creation collective, in collaboration with artists, researchers, and cultural practitioners
Montreal, Canada

Research-creation collective rethinking power structures

How does decolonial research-creation reshape knowledge systems?

The Laboratoire d’art et de recherche décoloniaux (LabARD) is a research-creation collective exploring decolonial approaches in art, science, culture, and pedagogy. Founded in 2021 at UQAM, it critically examines power structures in artistic and academic fields to challenge dominant epistemologies. LabARD fosters transdisciplinary collaboration and values marginalized histories and knowledge systems. Its research is structured around three key axes: decentering cultural norms, exploring decolonial aesthetics, and developing epistemological resistance. Through research-creation, pedagogy, and public engagement, LabARD contributes to the expansion of alternative artistic and intellectual practices.

LabARD develops and supports a range of participatory research-creation projects, exhibitions, performances, and public engagementsthat reflect its commitment to decolonial methodologies. Below are some of the key research-creation projects undertaken by the collective.

Two Study Days: Decolonial Participatory Listening

April 4-5, 2024
Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)
Studio de création en arts numériques (SCAN), UQAC
Centre d’artistes le Lobe, Chicoutimi

How can participatory listening challenge dominant epistemologies?

Organized in collaboration with the UQAC and Le Lobe, these two study days focused on participatory listening from a decolonial perspective. Bringing together artists, researchers, and curators, the event combined theoretical discussions with practical experiments. The first day featured a lecture by artist Anawana Haloba and a panel exploring the social and political dimensions of listening. The second day invited participants to apply these ideas through sound creation workshops led by Alexandre Castonguay and a presentation of LabARD members’ works at Le Lobe. This initiative fostered dialogue among research, creation, and community engagement, highlighting listening as an act of solidarity and resistance in academic and artistic settings. Event archived on Vimeo.

Scientific Direction: Constanza Camelo, Alexandre Castonguay, Romeo Gongora
Coordination: Renato Rodriguez-Lefebvre
Contributors: Eruoma Awashish, Aziz Boughedir, Constanza Camelo, Alexandre Castonguay, Kristine Dizon, Caroline Fillion, Milena Garzón Zurita, Romeo Gongora, Amanda Gutiérrez, Anawana Haloba, Éric Langevin, Cristina Lleras, Michèle Magema, Felippe Martín, Carlos “Marilyn” Monroy, minette carole djamen nganso, James Partaik, Yanik Potvin, Renato Rodriguez-Lefebvre, SBC Galerie d’art contemporain (Antoine Bertron, Carla Rangel, Nuria Carton de Grammont), Ulysse Schopp, Gabrielle Turbide, Guillaume Tremblay, Gabriel Vieira

Exhibition: Third Ear Transmissions

November 10 – December 21, 2023
SBC galerie d’art contemporain, Montréal

Presented at SBC Galerie d’art contemporain, Third Ear Transmissions is an exhibition inspired by the sonic explorations developed through the jams. The installation was conceived as a space for active listening and immersive engagement, inviting visitors to experience sound works that explore memory, territory, and decolonial narratives. In partnership with the artists and LabARD, the SBC team designed the exhibition as a space for reflection, encouraging visitors to listen in new ways and to experience alternative modes of storytelling and transmission.

Contributors: Antoine Bertron, Nuria Carton de Grammont, Alexandre Castonguay, Manuel Chantre, Naima Dionne, Minette Carole Djamen Nganso, Vir-Andrés Hera, Philippe-Aubert Gauthier, Amanda Gutiérrez, Romeo Gongora, Geronimo Inutiq, Maria Paula Lonegro, Carla Rangel, and Martín Rodríguez.

LabARD Members

General Director:
Romeo Gongora

Scientific Direction:
2023-2024 : Constanza Camelo, Alexandre Castonguay et Romeo Gongora
2024-2025 : Nuria Carton de Grammont, Romeo Gongora et Amín Pérez

LabARD Members (2024–2025):
Antoine Bertron, Marcela Borquez, Aziz Boughedir, Constanza Camelo, Nuria Carton de Grammont, Alexandre Castonguay, Kristine Dizon, Leila Faraj, Carla Francisco, Philippe-Aubert Gauthier, Eluza Maria Gomes, Romeo Gongora, Amanda Gutierrez, Michèle Magema, Bahar Majdzadeh, Felippe, Myriame Martineau, Iván Peña Miranda, Nat Nesvaderani, minette carole djamen nganso, Amín Pérez, José Antonio Patino Bunt, Carla Rangel, Gina Thésée, Gabrielle Turbide

Laboratoire d’art et de recherche décoloniaux (LabARD, 2021-), a collective rethinking power structures

Table of Contents
  1. Description
  2. Two Study Days
  3. Exhibition
  4. LabARD Members