MONTREAL PREMIERE 2025 | FIRST RESIDENCY RELEASE 2024
Montreal Premiere - 2025
PERFORMANCES ET ACTIVITÉS CONNEXES
PERFORMANCES
Performance times are below:
Friday, May 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
What: Montreal premiere of the documentary play The Farm or How to Feed an Intelligent Future.
A 12' x 12' square LED screen and an equally sized stage take place on the Esplanade Tranquille for three days, creating the idea of the cube, the black box in which the actresses perform.
A post-show discussion takes place after each performance in collaboration with Multitudes.
Where: Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des Spectacles located at 1442 Rue Clark, Montreal, QC H2X 2R3, at the corner of Clark and Ste-Catherine streets (near the St-Laurent metro station) - rain map: Refectory of the Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des Spectacles.
Photographie: ©Izabel Zimmer
vidéo: ©Kayla Jeanson
Geneviève Rochette - actress
A woman of many talents, Geneviève Rochette has a combined career as an actress, screenwriter, author, and comedian, in which she also excels. Well known to the general public for her appearances on television, notably in Au nom du père, Omertà, Réseaux, Virginie, Mirador, 30 vies, La Galère. She subsequently went on to star in several other television series, including Mirador, Ruptures, Unité 9, Fugeuse, Clash, District 31, Un lien Familial, Indéfendable, Avant le crash, Projet innocence, Alertes, L’Indétectable.
Annie Roy - research, writing and directing
Alongside a career in the world of new dance, Annie Roy co-founded ATSA - When Art Takes Action in 1997 with her late partner, Pierre Allard, who passed away in November 2018. For 21 years, the duo, in life and in art, implemented more than sixty urban interventions (installations, events, participatory stagings) reflecting the social and environmental aberrations that concerned them. ATSA's creations restore the civic dimension of public spaces as open spaces for discussion and societal debate. Annie continues to activate ATSA's action-works and invites you to join the project The Farm or how to feed an intelligent future, in 2025.
VIDEO INSTALLATION "UN TEMPS"
Video installation UN TEMPS, created by Annie Roy was screened on the Esplanade Tranquille of the Quartier des Spectacles, from may 23rd to may 25th 2025.
SATELLITE ACTIVITIES:workshops-discussion, post show mediation, film screening, tree shoots sale, IA library, bar
WORKSHOPS-DISCUSSION
Digital sobriety with Daria Marchenko - saturday my 24th 2025 from 11am to 1pm
Speaker:Photojournalist, videographer, digital artist (CALQ scholarship), Daria Marchenko has experience in artistic creation (production of advertising and documentary videos) and media project management (photo director, photo editor) in Russia, France, Canada and Hong Kong. Holder of a Bachelor degree in photojournalism (2007 - Moscow), an M sc in media communication (2011 - Montreal), a Bachelor degree in film production (2015 - Montreal); in August 2023, she begins a doctoral program in marketing at HEC Montréal. Since 2020, Daria Marchenko has been an eco-entrepreneur, founder and president of ECOIST CLUB, a social impact project that supports companies in the responsible digital transition. Since 2021, columnist on the radio show Moteur de recherche de Radio-Canada.
Workshop description:
Concrete tools will be shared with you to account for your digital data and limit the footprint of their use of artificial intelligence.
Digital sovereignty with Valentine Goddard - may 24th 2025 from 3pm to 5pm
Speaker: Valentine Goddard, lawyer and artist, is the founder and executive director of the AI Impact Alliance. She was a member of Canada’s AI Advisory Council (2021–2024) and is a regularly consulted expert by the United Nations, contributing to the development of AI governance models that influence policy and regulatory frameworks at the national and international levels.
Workshop description:
What if digital technology became a lever to protect what is most dear to us: our democracy, our culture, our economy? Digital sovereignty is not a technological luxury: it is a matter of collective survival in the era of Trump, GAFAM, and digital interference. This conference-workshop invites you to decipher together this concept, which is still little-known but central to our future. As citizens, professionals, entrepreneurs, or consumers, we all have a role to play—and concrete actions to take—to regain control over our data, our tools, and our ability to act in the digital world. An interactive period will allow for discussion on individual levers and requests to be addressed to our elected officials to build a sovereign digital environment that reflects our values.
Distinguishing fact from fiction with Anne Nguyen - sunday may 25th 2025 from 1pm to 3pm
Speaker: Anne Nguyen, guided by the values of inclusion, equality, and humanity, is passionate about innovation whose professional career has been marked by numerous challenges and achievements. A graduate of Harvard Business School in Business Analytics, Anne Nguyen has been the Director Responsible for AI at the Quebec Innovation Council since January 2024.
Workshop description:
Machines are the last invention humans will ever create, but this creation cannot continue without human involvement. Indeed, although AI can accomplish impressive tasks, it still depends on humans to remain aligned with our values and needs. It is crucial not to be afraid to get involved and to connect with science, because the greater the risks, the more we need to contribute to shaping a responsible and beneficial technological future for society. This will also allow us to distinguish fact from fiction, not only in the creation of AI, but also in the true value of humans and their role in this changing world.
POST SHOW MEDIATIONS
Members of Multitudes, Quebec citizens' movement will mediate post-show discussions.
FILM SCREENING
In the belly of AI by Henri Poulain was screened free of charge in Le Réfectoire of the Esplanade Tranquille, on Saturday, May 24, 2025 at 9 p.m.
TREE SHOOTS SALE
The development of the project La Ferme, or how to feed an intelligent future, would benefit from your donations.
Native Quebec tree saplings to plant in the ground or in pots, $16 each - will be available to purchase on site around performance hours.
IA LIBRARY
In collaboration with BAnQ, an artificial intelligence library will be available on site at the Esplanade Tranquille from May 23 to 25, 2025.
BAR
An alcohol-free bar will also be on site. Provided by MOX.).
VOLUNTEERING
Various volunteer positions have been offered.
Reception | Bar Management | Tree Sapling Distribution | Library Management (Small Outdoor Library and Grand Salon Indoor Library) | Workshop and Conference Assistance | Mediation | Stage Support | Free electron | Actors
CREATION TEAM AND COLLABORATORS
ON STAGE
from left to right: Geneviève Rochette and Annie Roy.
ON SCREEN
Dave Anctil - professor and researcher
PhD, is a Professor at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf and an affiliated researcher at the International Observatory on the Societal Impacts of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology (OBVIA), and an Expert Advisor on Adaptation to AI, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Université Laval. His research focuses primarily on human-machine interaction, particularly the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and virtual reality (VR) in political, professional, social, and personal spheres. He also devotes himself to popularizing science and teaching professionals about new technologies, as well as consulting on the issues, risks, and benefits associated with new technologies.
Matthieu Dugal - journalist, columnist, radio and television host, author of the book AI, How Machines Could Replace Us
Mathieu Dugal is a host of the show Moteur de recherche on Radio-Canada Première. Communicating issues related to the popularization and better understanding of digital culture and culture in the digital world have been part of his career for 20 years as a journalist, columnist, and radio and television host. Mathieu Dugal is the author of the book AI - How Machines Could Replace Us.
Valentine Goddard - speaker of the workshop Digital sovereignty
Lawyer and artist Valentine Goddard is the founder and executive director of the AI Impact Alliance (AIIA), a non-profit organization founded in 2017 whose mission is to research the social impacts of AI. She is a member of Canada's AI Advisory Council, a UN public policy and governance expert, and directs the International Center of Expertise on Art, AI, Law and Society.
Steven Guilbeault - Member of Parliament for Laurier-Sainte-Marie, author of The Co-founder of the Quebec environmental organization Équiterre, he was its senior director and spokesperson from 2008 to 2018. He also worked for ten years for the Canadian branch of Greenpeace as director and campaign manager in Quebec.
He has been a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons since October 21, 2019, elected in the district of Laurier—Sainte-Marie under the banner of the Liberal Party of Canada, and serves as Minister of Canadian Heritage. During his first term, he was Minister of the Environment from October 26, 2021 to March 14, 2025, then Minister of Culture and Canadian Identity and Parks Canada from that date.
Michal Seta - artist and researcher
Michal Seta is a sound artist, improviser, coder, and digital arts researcher. Michal is a composer and improviser whose work revolves around digital technologies. Having crossed the boundaries between art, music, architecture, electronics, poetry, software, and the Canadian winter, he works with the spoken word and music duo UniSecs, collaborates with various people on various projects involving sound and technology, leads workshops on open-source software applications for music and sound production, and develops his own way of enriching his instrument with a digital heart. Michal Seta is a research associate at matralab.
CREATION TEAM
Raymond Marius Boucher - set design consultant
Raymond Marius Boucher has worked as a set designer on over 100 theatrical productions, created sets for dance and film, and designed the stage designs for several exhibitions. He has been nominated four times since 1995 by the Académie Québécoise du Théâtre for his exceptional work, which has traveled not only across Canada, but also to the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden. Since 2002, as a senior lecturer, he has shared his experience and knowledge with theatre design students at Concordia University. He served as President of the Association des Professionnels des Arts de la Scène du Québec (APASQ) from 2007 to 2011, and since 2014 has served as President of the Jean-Paul Mousseau Foundation and Vice President of the Société de Développement du Musée des Arts Vivants du Québec. In 2018, he obtained his master's degree in theater from the UQAM School of Theater.
Anna Doumet - creative assistant
After studying interior design and then theatre design at Concordia University, this designer puts her talents and expertise to good use on a wide variety of projects. Passionate about sharing her knowledge, she is also very involved in children's theatre. She joins the ATSA team to bring her expertise to the creation of our major 2025 project The Farm or how to feed an intelligent future. The Conseil des Arts de Montréal's démART-Mtl program made possible Anna Doumet's participation in The Farm's project as a creative assistant.
Gauthier Aboudaram - video editing
A longtime cinema enthusiast, he founded the Clap Campus association while at university, which he directed (directing, producing, managing the budget and equipment, organizing film screenings, etc.) until the end of his studies and his move to Montreal in 2014. There, he entered the film industry and directed short films and music videos alongside his work on set.
Gauthier aims to explore a cinema that navigates genres, while addressing themes such as self-discovery, family, and what lies behind the Strange.
Alexandre Chartrand- enregistrement des entrevues
Alexandre Chartrand is a Quebec painter and filmmaker. He directed the feature film La Planque (2004) and produced the documentary Lemoyne (2005). He has worked as a film editor since the early 2000s, notably for the documentary Godin (Simon Beaulieu, 2011), for which he won a Gémeaux Award, in addition to directing several music videos, television documentaries, and short films. From 2003 to 2011, he offered editing and directing workshops for several organizations and institutions, including the cultural activities of the Université de Montréal, and he was invited to speak several times to students in the Film Studies department at Université Laval. His career in visual arts includes two photography exhibitions, the performance evenings Les Décapantes en diable (from 2002 to 2004) and four solo painting exhibitions(Totalitarisme économique 2010, Hommage à Godin 2011, On se fait tous fourrer 2012 et Dix ans 2013).
Maryse Carrier - costumes
Maryse has danced professionally for over 30 years for various companies and independent choreographers. Over the years, she has enhanced her experience with numerous classes and projects as a performer in singing, theater, clown, television, and film. She taught movement for 13 years for Dance Against Violence to women in shelters. Since 2020, she has been an audiobook narrator for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). She has always loved costume and was able to further pursue one of her passions by working as a costume assistant and manager at Espaces Costumes for four years. She has collaborated with ATSA in various ways since its inception.
Izabel Zimmer - show photography
Izabel Zimmer opened her first photography studio in 1991. She specialized in actor portraits for many years, and she also collaborated as a set photographer for television and Quebec film shoots. Izabel made a big shift around 2015 and decided to move to the countryside where she built her new home. She welcomes visitors to her cottage in the heart of a beautiful maple grove that she operates in an artisanal way until 2022. By becoming a maple syrup producer and curious about local products, she takes more and more care of what she puts on her plate! She occasionally collaborates in event photography in her rural environment. She remains on the lookout for photo projects in her hometown, Montreal, where she loves to return. She has just broadened her photographic horizons by participating in a major project in an Indigenous community. A mixed project of portraits and architectural structures…..an exciting project in the making.
Kayla Jeanson - video recording
Kayla Jeanson is a dance artist and filmmaker whose work spans stage and screen, from dance and circus shows to documentary films. Her short films defy genre boundaries, notably the award-winning dance/poetry film Descrambled Eggs (2015). A graduate of the University of Manitoba’s Film Studies program, Kayla has worked as a videographer for companies such as Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers, and Cirque du Soleil. Through her collaborations with artists including Luca “Lazylegz” Patuelli, Ess Hödlmoser, Kyra Jean Green, Damian Siqueiros, Margie Gillis, and Nicolas Montes de Oca, Kayla aims to illuminate diverse artists who challenge the status quo.
Anne-Marie St-Louis - outside eye
Anne-Marie St-Louis is a passionate and versatile director and theater artist. Recipient of the FRQSC scholarship for her work on food and theatricality as part of her master's degree at the École Supérieure de Théâtre, she seeks to create more inclusive, convivial, and imaginative modes of staging. Since 2016, she has co-directed the youth theater company Créactifs. In addition to directing for the past 3 years at Collège Mont-Saint-Louis with the fabulous group of young actors who attend, Anne-Marie has had the opportunity to work on numerous cultural mediation projects in major Montreal institutions such as Les Grands Ballets and Théâtre du Nouveau Monde. She also works as a teacher and mediator with various partners, including Théâtre Espace Libre, Fusion Jeunesse, ATSA Quand L’art Passe à l’action and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
Annie Roy would like to thank Dominic Champagne, Anne-Marie Saint-Louis, Béatrice Allard, Dominique Lebeau and the whole team of La Ferme since may 2024 for their precious advice during the creation process.
TECHNICAL TEAM
Eddy Rixhon - technical director
Charles Sylvestre - cube assembly and disassembly
Violette
Thank you to Partenariat du Quartier des Spectacles - Solotech - Ville de Montréal - Électro Performance
SPEAKERS TEAM
from left to right, Daria Marchenko, Valentine Goddard, Anne Nguyen.
MEDIATION TEAM
Béatrice Allard - mediator
Originally from Montreal, Béatrice is a lawyer with several interests. At CÉGEP of Saint-Laurent, she completed a double DEC in classical piano and humanities. In 2019, she received the Loran McCall MacBain Scholarship and chose to continue her university studies in civil law at the University of Ottawa. After her law degree, she completed a Juris Doctor in common law (J.D.), for which she received the Honourable Brian Dickson Award for the best academic results in her cohort. She was an intern at a major national firm and was called to the Barreau du Québec in 2024. Since then, Béatrice has been selected to be one of the 5 Jean-Charles-Bonenfant Foundation bursary interns for 2025-2026 and will begin her parliamentary internship in September. Alongside her studies, Béatrice has a deep passion for the arts and social involvement. For the past three years, she has been involved in the Association of Progressive Lawyers. She is also a member of the CCUNESCO youth group.
Anne-Marie Saint-Louis - médiatrice
(biography above)
Multitudes - mediation team
Multitudes is a citizen movement that brings together people from different backgrounds around a project of social and ecological transformation of Quebec. Faced with the advancing oligarchy, Multitudes proposes a radically opposite path: the path of democracy. A democracy anchored in the territories, truly inclusive, which integrates the economy and gives us back power.
ATSA TEAM
Émilie Gervais : Executive management deputy and administrative manager
Steffie Boucher : Communications and audience development manager
Léane Charlet : Volunteers and communication coordinator intern
Julien Berthier: Graphic designer
Thara Communication : Press relations
For the conversations that enriched the work's content, Annie Roy would like to thank:
Philippe Després
Martin Deron
Raphaël Guyard
Jamin Chtouki
Dominic Champagne
Thank you to all our volunteers!
OUTCOME
The Farm or How to feed an intelligent future was able to take place from May 23 to 25, 2025, in the Quartier des Spectacles, on the Esplanade Tranquille, and especially in Le Réfectoire due to the rain, which forced emergency performances indoors.
Since we were on a rain schedule in a venue that held 80 people, we were able to accommodate a few additional people standing up and present the play to 340 people for three performances, followed by discussions with mediators from ATSA and Multitudes.
We stayed up to 90 additional minutes discussing in the venue each evening after the shows. This inspires us to continue these magical moments of performance-discussions throughout Quebec and around the world (except in the United States...!)
We performed a spontaneous extra performance so we could film outside on Sunday at noon in our real set on the Esplanade Tranquille.
67 people attended the workshop-lectures by Daria Marchenko, Valentine Goddard, and Anne Nguyen, which were streamed live for those unable to attend in person.
Around thirty people were able to see the film "In the belly of AI" by Henri Poulain, which we highly recommend.
Thank you to the 37 volunteers who volunteered 96 hours of their time to support these three days of reflection on the impacts of AI on our lives.
The indoor space for consulting books selected by the BAnQ generated particular interest and provided another forum for discussion.
The video installation "UN TEMPS" was very popular, and ideas for showing it in a gallery-museum or park setting are already being developed.
Thank you for your support through the purchase of MOX mocktails and tree saplings, which will bring a touch of life to your yards and balconies.
Thank you all for making these three days a lively opportunity to discuss this machine, neither intelligent nor artificial, and its excesses face to face!
The reflection continues because the play will adapt over time, and we hope to perform in parks, schools, cultural centers, festivals, and theaters that want us!
Thank you to all our partners, a dream team, and relevant collaborators!
PARTNERS
ATSA would like to thank its partners who made the Farm or how to feed an intelligent future project, possible.
Warm thanks to
François Legault, Prime Minister of Quebec
Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks
Christine Fréchette, Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy
Mathieu Lacombe, Minister of Culture et des Communications
Caroline Proulx, Minister of Tourism
Ruba Ghazal, Member of Parliament for Mercier
Ruba Ghazal, Députée de Mercier
Culture Montréal
OFFTA x La Serre Arts Vivants
FTA
First residency release - 2024
When: Saturday, May 25, 2024, from 2:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
What: Doors opening at 2:30 p.m., with ongoing workshops, activities, and discussions. Two keynote conferences, unveiling of the installation model, and performance excerpts at 3:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., followed by discussion sessions with special guests and vox pop.
Where: Pavillon of the Esplanade Tranquille in the Quartier des Spectacles located at 1442 Rue Clark, Montreal, QC H2X 2R3, at the corner of Clark and Ste-Catherine streets (near the St-Laurent metro station).
Collaborators
The Farm or how to feed and intelligent future, is a constantly evolving project based on the latest knowledge in Artificial Intelligence. This is made possible thanks to the collaboration of specialists in the field, including:
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Dave Anctil PhD,Jean-de-Brébeuf collège professor et researcher affiliated to the Observatoire international sur les impacts sociétaux de l’intelligence artificielle et du numérique (OBVIA), Laval University. | |
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Matthieu Dugal is a host of the radio program Moteur de recherche on Ici Radio-Canada Première. | |
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Michal Seta is a sound artist, improviser, coder and digital arts researcher. | |
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The Conseil régional de l'environnement de Montréal (The Montreal Regional Environmental Council) supports the creation process of the work by recording the project's digital data in order to generate a report. This ongoing analysis will then make it possible to advise on recommendations to reduce the ecological footprint of such projects. |
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L'École de Technologie Supérieure school brings its expertise to the project through its collaboration with researchers in AI domain. |
Creation teams and partners
The creation team of The Farm or how to feed an intelligent future is a multidisciplinary team, reflecting this ambitious project.
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Annie Roy - Research, writing, stage direction | |
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Raymond Marius Boucher - scenography | |
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Brigitte Poupart - Mentorship | |
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Alexandre Chartrand - Cinematographer | |
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Gauthier Aboudaram - Video editing | |
In partnership with :
