Metacreation Lab Newsletter | March 2026

Philippe Pasquier Presents on Creative AI at Digital Research Alliance Webinar

In February, Dr. Philippe Pasquier, director of the Metacreation Lab, gave a webinar as part of the Humanities and Social Sciences series organized by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada. The talk explored how creative AI tools are enabling the partial or full automation of creative tasks and what these developments mean for artists, educators, students, and the creative industries.

The presentation introduced several generative systems developed at the Metacreation Lab for computer-assisted sound design, music composition, and visual generation. It also shared insights from evaluations conducted with the music software industry, examining issues such as user experience, ethics, sense of authorship, and technological acceptance.

Philippe Pasquier Presents on Creative AI and Co-Creation at UVic

As part of the Orion Lecture Series at the University of Victoria, Dr. Philippe Pasquier, director of the Metacreation Lab, gave a talk on Creative AI and Co-Creation. The presentation explored how AI systems can function as creative partners through co-creative tools for music and content generation. Pasquier highlighted the importance of small-data model crafting as an alternative to large cloud-based models, enabling artists to retain sovereignty, authorship, and aesthetic control over their work, while advocating for AI to be developed as a public utility that supports human creativity.

Autolume Workshop at UVic

In late February, Metacreation Lab’s PhD candidate Arshia Sobhan and Dr. Philippe Pasquier led a two-day workshop on Autolume at the University of Victoria. The workshop introduced participants to Autolume, a visual AI system developed at the Metacreation Lab for artistic creation using small-data generative models. Artists, students, and researchers explored hands-on workflows for training and performing with custom models while maintaining creative control over their datasets and outputs.

Philippe Pasquier Participates in Canada’s National Summit on AI and Culture

Dr. Philippe Pasquier, director of the Metacreation Lab, participated as a Bridgebuilder at the National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture, held March 16-17, 2026, in Banff, Alberta. The national gathering brought together leaders from the cultural sector, technology industry, research community, civil society, and government to discuss the future of AI in the arts and culture.

As part of the Summit’s Reflection Zones, Pasquier helped facilitate cross-sector discussions around the themes Build, Protect, and Empower, supporting dialogue and the development of practical ideas to guide future collaborations and policy considerations at the intersection of AI and culture in Canada. During the event, he also presented a demonstration of Autolume, showcasing the Metacreation Lab’s small-data approach to generative AI for artistic creation.

Calls for Submissions

AIMC 2026 – Conference on AI Music Creativity

Submissions are now open for the 7th Conference on AI Music Creativity (AIMC 2026), which brings together researchers, artists, and technologists working on AI-assisted music creation, computational creativity, and creative AI systems. The conference will take place in September 2026 in Berlin. Dr. Philippe Pasquier serves as a member of the conference’s steering committee.

Abstract submission: April 4, 2026

Full paper, music, and tutorial submissions: April 18, 2026

More information: https://aimc2026.org/calls/call-for-submissions

Expanded 2026 – Conference on Animation and Interactive Art

The Expanded Conference on Animation and Interactive Art (Expanded 2026) invites submissions exploring animation, media art, and experimental moving image practices at the intersection of art, technology, and society. The conference will take place as part of the Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria. Dr. Philippe Pasquier serves as a research track co-chair in this conference.

Submission deadline: May 1, 2026

More information: https://expanded-conf.org/

Recent Paper Acceptances

CHI 2026 – Human Factors in Computing Systems

A paper co-authored by Dr. Philippe Pasquier has been accepted to CHI 2026, the premier international conference in Human-Computer Interaction. The paper, “LLM-based Embodied Conversational Agent for Reducing Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety in Social VR," explores the use of LLM-based embodied conversational agents in social VR to support language learning. Through a multi-day user study, the work shows how immersive, interactive agents can help reduce foreign language speaking anxiety by providing adaptive feedback, contextual interaction, and a low-pressure environment for practice. CHI 2026 takes place April 13–17, 2026 in Barcelona, Spain. 

More Information: https://chi2026.acm.org/

DIS 2026 – Designing Interactive Systems

A paper from the Metacreation Lab has been accepted to DIS 2026, a leading conference focused on the design of interactive systems and their cultural and societal impact. The paper, “There is Beauty in the Small,” presents a qualitative study of visual artists’ engagement with small-data and model-crafting approaches to generative AI using Autolume. Based on workshops and focus groups, the study highlights how small-data methods support artistic agency, authorship, and creative control, while also identifying key design opportunities for future creative AI tools. DIS 2026 will take place June 13–17 2026 in Singapore. 

More Information: https://dis.acm.org/2026/



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