AI expert-in-residence initiative helps artists shape the future of creative work

As artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes creative industries — from cinema and music to design, performance, and digital arts — art schools find themselves at a critical crossroads. At Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts, that moment has sparked a new initiative designed not only to respond to AI’s growing influence, but to help students integrate generative AI into professional creative workflows as a collaborative creative tool.

Launching this winter, the initiative, CTRL + AI – Human Creativity and Agency in the Age of AI, brings leading artists and cultural practitioners working with AI directly into the classroom and to the public.

Supported by the Tom Berry Fund for AI and Creativity, the initiative combines a for-credit Fine Arts undergraduate course with a series of six public conversations and hands-on workshops that foreground artistic agency, experimentation, and critical engagement.

“At a time when AI tools are transforming how creative work is produced, circulated, and valued, fine arts education has a responsibility to engage with these changes head-on,” says Annie Gérin, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts.

“While these changes can feel daunting, our role is not only to introduce new tools, but to help students engage with them critically, ethically, and creatively.”

A practitioner-led approach

At the heart of the initiative is a rotating AI expert-in-residence, a part-time position held by an artist or cultural-industry professional actively working with AI in their practice. The guest expert joins Concordia to help shape and deliver programming that bridges theory and practice across Fine Arts disciplines.

The inaugural expert is Christian Beltrami, BFA, 96, who brings more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of artistic experimentation, emerging technologies, and cultural production.

“Concordia sits in a rare Montreal ecosystem where deep learning research meets a strong culture of material craft and studio practice, grounded in ethics, inclusion, and agency,” Beltrami explains.

“That foundation is what equipped me to adapt my craft across borders and industries, from directing air-to-air cinematography in California to mastering VFX, and to collaborations at the highest level with Lewis Hamilton and Lang Lang, before becoming fascinated by the potential of AI for creativity.”

Beltrami has worked around the world exploring how technology, and now AI, can amplify storytelling and the impact of messages in film and the audiovisual industry. During his residency, Beltrami will lead a 3-credit intensive undergraduate course, offered May 11–June 1, 2026, alongside a year-long series of public events beginning in April 2026.

AI in the Studio: conversation + practice

Central to the initiative is a public event series, CTRL + AI — Human Creativity and Agency in the Age of AI. Each event will focus on a specific creative or cultural challenge that AI is reshaping or could meaningfully address in a particular artistic field.

Structured in two parts, the events will feature a conversation among practitioners — some working directly with AI-driven practices, others engaging with it from a critical perspective — offering a diversity of viewpoints and levels of expertise. The second part will take the form of a hands-on workshop, inviting participants both in person and online to experiment with tools, workflows, or methods related to the topic discussed.

Programming will move across disciplines, beginning with cinema (screenwriting) and expanding into music, video games, and the visual arts. Faculty members, alumni, students, and external practitioners will be invited to participate, creating a shared space for learning.

“This initiative is about converting the daily noise around AI into critical agency and creating a space where AI meets your expertise and craft,” Beltrami says.

“AI is in the news every day. We’ve moved past the novelty of prompting into a state of passive disruption where the technology can standardize creativity. We must learn to question dataset bias, protect authorship, and rely on critical judgment and human taste to guide the system toward precise creative intent.

Fine Arts students — and the Humanities more broadly — will be at the center of this revolution, ensuring human judgment remains the architect of the system as we move through this transition with clarity, responsibility, and confidence,” he emphasizes.

Supporting students in a shifting creative landscape

This initiative aims to:

• Expose students to practitioners at the forefront of AI developments in the arts
• Build confidence and critical perspective when working with AI-supported creative tools
• Equip students with skills and ways of thinking increasingly sought after in creative fields
• Prepare emerging artists to shape, rather than simply react to, technological change

“For students and practitioners, this is about readiness,” Beltrami adds. 

“Readiness to think critically, to adapt creatively, and to lead with integrity in a world where AI will continue to play a growing role,” concludes Gérin.
 

To learn more, attend the information session on February 26, 1–2 pm (Zoom link: https://concordia-ca.zoom.us/j/82513383335, Meeting ID: 825 1338 3335) 

Follow the Faculty of Fine Arts for updates and discover programming from Concordia AI Applied Institute and Milieux.