About Us -

Hypothèses is a bilingual art history conference series organized by and for graduate students at Montreal universities. Founded in 2011, the series aims to foster, share, and disseminate emerging research in art history while encouraging dialogue across institutional boundaries and creating connections between researchers, the museum sector, and the broader public.

Each session features presentations by two MA or PhD students from one of Montreal’s four universities: Concordia University, McGill University, Université de Montréal, and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM). Each presenter delivers a talk of approximately 20 minutes, followed by a discussion and Q&A period moderated by a chair, usually a professor from one of the four participating universities. These encounters provide a space for critical reflection, constructive debate, and the exchange of ideas across diverse research perspectives.

Since 2019, Hypothèses has expanded its activities with Annexes, a bilingual podcast series produced in partnership with the [Phi Centre]. Through interviews hosted by Valentine Desmorat, Annexes invites emerging scholars to reflect on the significance of art history and share their research with a wider audience.

Through its conferences and podcast, Hypothèses is committed to making emerging scholarship visible, fostering intellectual exchange, and building bridges between academic research, cultural institutions, and the public.

Charlie GouletCo-hosting and coordination of the podcast

Charlie Goulet-Marcil is a PhD student in art history at the Université du Québec à Montréal and a cultural worker. She is interested in ephemeral documents and their symbolic value, choosing to explore them through their points of rupture — formal, semiotic and communicative shifts. Her doctoral project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
In parallel with her academic research, Charlie contributes articles to periodicals such as Spirale, Vie des arts and Inter, art actuel, whilst quietly developing a practice that bridges theory and practice led research.
As a worker, her approach focuses on laughter, experimentation and vulnerability – everything needed to get to the heart of the things.

Émilia IsteadWeb Communications

Émilia Istead holds a master’s degree in Art History from the Université de Montréal. Her research explores the relationships between resistance biennials and the art market, with a particular focus on the Montreal context and the dynamics between local biennials and commercial galleries. She is currently continuing her academic studies as a candidate in the short graduate program in Exhibition Theories and Practices at the Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Alongside her academic work, she is actively engaged in curatorial practice and cultural mediation. She has notably led the educational programming at Livart art centre and served as Assistant Curator for Cultural Mediation and Assistant Curator at the Galerie de l’Université de Montréal.

Janika Gilham LeblancSocial Media Coordination

Janika Gilham-Leblanc (she/her) is a master’s student in political science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and a political communications professional. She also holds a minor in art history from the Université de Montréal and is interested in the connections between culture, politics, and society. Her research focuses primarily on populism, political communication, and the dynamics of polarization in digital spaces. Her current research project, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), examines citizen interactions on social media in the context of Montreal’s 2025 municipal elections.
Alongside her academic pursuits, Janika has developed expertise in strategic communications and social media management within municipal politics. She notably worked in the Office of the Mayor of Montreal, where she specialized in digital communications and making political issues more accessible to the public.

Maëlle PoirelFinancial Coordination

Monika WrightGeneral Coordination and Visual Identity

Monika Wright is a PhD candidate in Art History at UQAM, where she specializes in provenance research, Nazi-era looted art, and restitution issues. She holds a Master's degree in Art History and a Bachelor's degree in Museology and Arts Dissemination, both from UQAM. Her research focuses primarily on the histories and trajectories of artworks that were displaced or confiscated during the Nazi era and the Cold War.

She is particularly interested in how provenance research can contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of museum institutions and foster greater recognition of their responsibility in relation to history.

Nicolas Vignola-GoyerFinancial Coordination

Sarah BastienLogistics and Events Coordination

Sarah Bastien (she/her) is a copywriter, researcher, and independent curator based in Tiohtiá:ke/Montréal. Her work explores repetition as a gesture within creative processes, integrating her training in printmaking, completed in Florence, as a research-creation methodology. Currently pursuing an MA in Art History at Concordia University, she also holds a graduate certificate in curatorial studies and practices from the same university, as well as a BA in communications from UQAM. She has collaborated with the National Film Board of Canada, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Fonderie Darling, ELEKTRA, and Concordia’s MFA program.

Thomas VachonCo-hosting and coordination of the podcast

Next conference

November 18, 2026, at CIRCA art actuel

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