CLCF researchers ME Luka, Cate Alexander, Aline Zara, and CLCF partner Laboratory for Artistic Intelligence (Helen Yung, Carly Sheridan) took part in the 2025 iteration of the Skagen Institute for Transgressive Methods this past January 28-30. Annette Markham (Utrecht University) noted in the invite: “[We] convene to talk about what it means to be transgressive, and for people to work on something, in a transgressive way…people are working on their current projects and testing new methodologies or mindsets, with people encouraging them.” This year’s event took place at multiple sites, including Amsterdam, London, Toronto, and Copenhagen. CLCF hosted the Toronto sessions in the Faculty of Information Learning Hub, including the hybrid sessions on live illustration and zine-making led by Danielle Taschereau-Mamers, a researcher/writer/illustrator who also works at the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative at U of T. The events included writing sprints, creative work, and network building. Plans are now afoot for a collaboration on media literacy in the age of AI – more to come on this later.
U of T PhD candidate Aline Zara shared their takeaway from the event:
“Inspired by transgressive methods, I revisited zine-making weeks later to make a handout for my dissertation proposal defense. Distilling my entire proposal into a single zine had both challenges and moments of creative opportunity. Each page of my zine represented a chapter of my proposed dissertation, with the last page as something different — a prompt to completely unfold the zine and read more on the unseen full-sized page folded inside.”
Check out the images of some of the zines produced for a sense of the kinds of projects involved.
ME Luka’s zine.
Trine Friis Sørensen’s zine.
Aline Zara’s zine.
CLCF Co-Director & Associate Professor
Dr. MaryElizabeth (“M.E.”) Luka is PI and Co-Director of the Creative Labour and Critical Futures (CLCF) cluster and Associate Professor, Arts & Media Management, at University of Toronto, where they examine modes and meanings of co-creative production and distribution in the digital age for arts, culture, and media.
Research Assistant
Aline Zara (they/she) is a Ph.D. candidate and artist at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Information. Their research focuses on voice, sound, embodiment, and AI at the intersection of critical AI studies, voice and sound studies, transfeminist science & technology studies, disability studies, and queer studies.
