Founded in 2004 in Toronto, Canada, Le Labo's mandate is to produce and promote francophone media art and interdisciplinary projects. Studio dedicated to research and production, Le Labo's programming includes residencies, exhibitions/ installations, workshops and conferences. Le Labo is also committed in providing numerous activities to the community and the younger generation such as youth workshops and artist's talks.
Geneviève Trilling lives in Toronto since 2002 where she works as an actress. She has experimented in several fields such as arts, sports and technology before she decided to fully embrace theatre and cinema. First, she worked as a coach for figure skating and as a choreographer. She has then graduated in Computer Sciences at the University Joseph Fourier in Grenoble, France. Afterwards, she worked at Raytheon in the programming of a Canadian air control software from 1998 to 2001. From 2004 to 2008, she worked for the National Film Board where she filled several positions such as projectionist, coordinator of workshops for children and adults and technical assistant.
Geneviève is a member of Le Labo since 2006 and is particularly interested in photography and video captioning. In August 2009 she has first entered the Board of Directors as a treasurer.
Thom Sokoloski trained in New York City and Paris as an artist, producer and curator. He produced Sid’s Kids - the punk musical, Michael Nyman and band, the Master Musicians of Jajouka (because the ghost of Brian Jones told him to), worked with R. Murray Schafer, created his own works and directed site-specific opera and theatre (in a train station, science centre, swimming pool, castle, canals, abandoned cirque d’hiver, etc.). His work has been presented by the Holland Festival, Toronto’s WorldStage, Ars Musica Brussels, Strasbourg’s Musica, Musique-en-scène Festival, Huddersfield Festival, Opéra de Lyon, the Canadian Opera Company and Opéra de Montréal. In 2004, he left the performing arts to focus on large-scale public art installations. He premiered Confinement of the Intellect at the inaugural edition of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche in 2006, and then as The Encampment in New York City in 2007 and Ottawa in 2008. He also curated for the McLuhan International Festival of the Future (2004), Toronto International Art Fair (Interactive 2005) and Contact (2007).
Thom Sokoloski has a wide international experience as well as a large record in artistic direction, which is a major contribution to Le Labo.
Nicole Croiset produces works in various media, including video, computer graphics, synthesis image and interactive multimedia installations. She has participated in many national and international events, notably Images du futur in Montréal and Rencontres Arts Électroniques 4 in Rennes (France). Le Labo, la Galerie Glendon and Bravo-Est have displayed her more recent works. Her work was presented in the exhibition WACK!, Women's Art and Feminist Revolution at the MOCA in Los Angeles in 2007.
Marc LeMyre is a multimedia artist. His unique vision is expressed in a confluence of the written and spoken word, stage creations and images. Poésie Électrique (Electric Poetry) is the appellation he often uses when impelled to describe his approach to poetry, which is more performance and media based than purely literary. His visual, performance and stage productions have been seen, heard and supported by among others: CBC radio, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Voir and Liaison magazines, la Nouvelle Scène in Ottawa, le Théâtre la Catapulte, Carbone 14 Théâtre, Momentum Théâtre, Pollution Probe, Gina-Rae Horvath Photography, Coup de cœur francophone, the International Poetry Festival of Trois-Rivières, the Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts. Photography is a rather vital component of Poésie Électrique because it is the medium through which the artist achieves the financial stability needed to pursue all his creative endeavours while giving him the opportunity to refine and develop his visual quest. Marc LeMyre was born in Québec City; he has lived in Toronto, Canada since 1995.
Jason St-Laurent (born in Moncton, NB in 1974) studied Fine Arts at the University of Toronto. His performance and video work has been featured at the Blast Performance Art Festival (Gallery 101 & SAW Gallery), the ad hoc Museum of Contemporary Art in Cape Town (along with Mara Verna), Art en direct (Galerie sans nom in Moncton), at Remix (SAW Video and Code régional). His upcoming projects include Scatologue: 30 Years of Crap in Contemporary Art (co-curated with Stefan St-Laurent) and Habitat, a three-piece prototype shelter for underpasses to be installed in Ottawa before winter. He is the founding member of Code régional (established 2001), a collective member of Available Light and the Coordinator of Club SAW for music, film and video.
Alex Loukos has worked as a film director and editor in Greece, France and Canada. In Greece, he met Théo Angelopoulos and directed several short-films. In Paris, he studied Film Direction and started audiovisual production. In 2004, Loukos moved to Canada where he was in charge of the post production of the film "Sphères" broadcast on Radio-Canada. He also directed numerous experimental videos in collaboration with visual artists. He currently works as an editor at the franco-ontarian tv channel TFO and for several private clients. Loukos is also a consultant for the National Film Board and a member of FRIC - Front of Independant Film Directors of Canada.
Alex Loukos is one of the founders of Le Labo in 2004 and a co-signer of its declaration as an incorporated organization in 2006. He developed numerous projects at Le Labo and contributed on the technical coordination, equipment management, general organization of events and exhibitions and numerous video workshops. He has initiated the project "Objectif Nouvelle Jeunesse", a long-term video workshop in francophone schools in Ontario, which had a large success over its three first editions.
Igor Deschamps was born in Lyon (Fr). Even from the crib his interests began with opera and contemporary art. Later, he practiced jazz, theater, and photography. He graduated in law, art history and anthropology. He holds a Master's degree in cultural management, followed by professionnal training in project management, financial management, and cultural sponsorship. Thanks to an interdisciplinary vision, and his interest in cultural ecology, he has been working exclusively in two fields since 2004 : new technologies in the artistic creationnal process, and new spaces/places for art production and exhibition.
