AI and Creativity Summer Intensive

About the program

This project-based studio course prepares students to integrate generative AI into professional creative workflows as a collaborative tool, not a substitute for authorship. Moving beyond simple prompting, students will learn to use AI to explore divergent directions, generate raw material, and accelerate iteration, while maintaining rigorous professional standards. Students will develop a strong understanding of how to think through bias mitigation, provenance and copyright, and develop an ethical framework for their AI augmented creative practice. 

The curriculum operationalizes a Human → AI → Human workflow. Students will conduct structured experimentation using AI to produce unexpected ideas, variations, and cross disciplinary concepts, then apply disciplined curation, editing, and refinement to ensure that human intent, taste, and decision making remain the driving force of the work.

Projects are tailored to each student’s discipline (film, design, media arts, scenography, dramaturgy, music composition, etc.), with an emphasis on repeatable methods that can be applied in real production environments.

This studio course is part of CTRL + AI – Human Creativity and Agency in the Age of AI, a Faculty of Fine Arts initiative supported by the Tom Berry Fund for AI and Creativity. The initiative brings leading artists and cultural practitioners working with AI directly into the classroom and into public dialogue, foregrounding artistic agency, experimentation, and critical engagement.

Who is it for?

This course is designed for any undergraduate students in Concordia’s Faculty of Fine Arts who have an active creative practice and are interested in critically integrating generative AI into their work. 

It is suitable for students working in disciplines such as: 

Course focus includes: 

The course is delivered as a studio, combining hands-on experimentation, critique, readings, and discussion. 

No advanced technical or programming experience is required. Students will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached (maximum 20 students).

Instructor / Expert-in-Residence

The course is led by an AI expert-in-residence — an artist or cultural-industry professional actively working with AI in their creative practice.

The inaugural expert is Christian Beltrami, BFA ’96, whose practice spans film, visual effects, and emerging technologies. Beltrami brings more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of artistic experimentation, storytelling, and technological innovation, with collaborations ranging from high-end cinematography to global cultural projects involving figures such as Lewis Hamilton and Lang Lang. He has also been featured as one of the Visionaries in Human-AI Creativity (AI Creatives, theaisanctuary.org) and as one of the most talented AI artists and filmmakers from around the world by Curious Refuge.

Course dates and info

Course: FAFS 398/1 - AI and Creativity Summer Intensive 
Location: Concordia University, Montreal
Credits: 3 credits
Level: Undergraduate
Program dates: May 11 – June 1, 2026

Registration opens March 10, 2026

Estimated costs

Tuition fees

Participants will pay tuition fees for one 3-credit studio course, based on the tuition rates normally paid within their program at Concordia University. 

Materials

Students are responsible for providing any materials required for their individual projects. Some projects may involve subscription-based AI tools; students will be guided toward free or institutionally supported options whenever possible.

Students register for this course (FAFS 398 First Summer Term, Section GD: AI and Creativity) through Concordia University’s regular course registration system, in accordance with Faculty of Fine Arts guidelines.  

No advanced technical or programming experience is required. Students will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached (maximum 20 students). 

Registration opens March 10, 2026.