After the Machine: How to Imagine in the Age of AI

Cadence Weapon(Rapper, Author)

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Cadence Weapon(Rapper, Author)

A Renaissance man for the Digital Age, Cadence Weapon aka Rollie Pemberton is rapper/producer/author with a list of accomplishments and credits so long – from receiving industry accolades for his music to receiving awards for critiquing this same industry in his writing – you might wonder what more is there for him to do. 

 

At once encyclopedically historical and presciently future-minded, the Polaris Music Prize winner is known first and foremost for his lyricism: charged commentary and cautionary tales of artificiality, tech-culture, classicism, gentrification, exploitation and more fit beside the self-aware chronicles of his own life and career. Cadence Weapon has made good on the critical acclaim of his early work and still remains at the avant-garde, pushing boundaries and buttons while his signature electronic/industrial sound,  a “grimy clarion call,” (Pitchfork) rings on.

An award-winning columnist and contributor to urgent cultural conversations (CBC Commotion, Hazlitt, Mood Machine, docuseries Paid in Full and more), ‘music industry sage’ Cadence Weapon represents the best of the west as Edmonton’s former Poet Laureate. 

Now based in Hamilton, Pemberton is poised to surprise his listeners yet again with the release of his new album, Forager. Forager finds Cadence Weapon as archivist and lyricist, curator and collector. The new songs are the work of keen eyes and ears, a restless curiosity for depth of knowledge and appreciation for detail. Written alongside his second book, forthcoming “Ways of Listening,” the songs are the natural extension of a curious mind set to the task of expressing the essence of our relationship to music, and how that is changing. 

pseudo-antigone (Philosopher, Musician)

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pseudo-antigone (Philosopher, Musician)

Simone Atenea Medina Polo (aka. pseudo-antigone, stylized all lowercase) is a philosopher and interdisciplinary artist based out of amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton, AB). Atenea has published articles and book chapters on philosophy, psychoanalysis, and Marxism with collaborators and editors such as Nicol A. Barria-Asenjo, Slavoj Žižek, Julie Reshe, Vanessa Sinclair, and Todd McGowan. Most recently, her article in Studies in Gender and Sexuality’s special volume on Cisteria! titled “How I Hacked My Gender and Music Using Psychoanalysis and Accelerationism” bridges her academic and creative work by making explicit the technological supports of the psyche found in experimental electronic music.

As pseudo-antigone, Atenea explores audio engineering through experimental pop and hyperpop. Her sound design is detailed and meticulous, leaning into metallic synth textures, loud fuzzy basses, and punchy beats. Her work often blends playful irony and heartbreaking earnestness informed by her psychoanalytic scholarship, such as in her album Melancholic Melodrama (2025). 

Dr. Kelly Sundberg (Criminologist, Professor, MRU)

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Dr. Kelly Sundberg (Criminologist, Professor, MRU)

Dr. Kelly Sundberg is a criminologist and professor at Mount Royal University, with adjunct and visiting appointments at the University of Calgary, the University of Adelaide, and De Montfort University. He also serves as the Standards Council of Canada’s voting representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) on matters relating to security and resilience.

His research focuses on public safety and security, particularly how physical, social, and online environments influence crime, criminality, and community well-being. Together with his colleague Alannah Reynaud, Kelly is examining a phenomenon they describe as “Toxic AIR” — Algorithmic Immersion Radicalization. Their research considers how AI-driven social media algorithms, post-pandemic loneliness and social isolation, and foreign influence are contributing to growing social division, alienation, and, most concerningly, hate-motivated violence.

A central finding of their work is that meaningful offline social engagement—including attending community events, meeting new people, and participating in new experiences—may help counter the harmful effects of excessive social media use and algorithmically reinforced online isolation.

Jarett Sitter(Writer, Illustrator)

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Jarett Sitter(Writer, Illustrator)

Jarett Sitter is a mixed-heritage artist from Calgary, Canada. He has created animation for Much Music Video Award-nominated music videos and for The Juno Awards, has illustrated magazine covers for The Believer, and has designed a series of murals on view in Calgary’s Chinatown. He is the author and artist of the graphic novel series Cassette City. More of his work can be viewed at jaretts.com.

Jae Sterling (Illustrator, Painter, Art Director)

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Jae Sterling (Illustrator, Painter, Art Director)

Jae Sterling is a multidisciplinary artist, curator and founding member of the FOREIGNERZ arthouse. Informed by and finding ways to blur pop culture, classic and contemporary art, Sterling’s work veers between presenting heightened expressions of human emotion and exploring dreamspaces. His mediums include muralism, graphic illustration, painting, written essays, music and fashion and often is presented under the title ‘BIG BULLY’. Through his early years in Kingston, Jamaica to the landscapes ofNorth America, Jae spent the past decade developing his artistry by weaving his experiences of growing up in Jamaica & South Florida, and coming into adulthood in the Canadian prairies into all his projects, predominantly as a musician. In 2019, his exploration in hip hop led him to be one of 10 artists selected for the Alberta National Music Centre’s residency program. Sterling has so far released four music projects and has toured in Alberta & Ontario

In 2020, Sterling embarked on an ambitious year-long multimedia exhibition, Riding Horses With White Men (RHWWM). The
success of RHWWM led to him being one of Calgary’s first black muralists, painting The Guide & Protector in Chinatown. Through his
collective, and now production house Jae has worked as a creative director for various projects. In 2021 Jae Sterling was invited to be the art fellow & curator of the Inaugural Arts Commons Incubator Program for the 2021-2022 season. In 2022, Sterling launched his next series, a meditation on prairie surrealism called ‘PORTALS’. This series debuted in TRUCK GALLERY in spring through a solo exhibition ‘SEVEN PORTALS’, went on to be seen within Arts Commons in various iterations and had it’s most massive installation through a 2000 sq ft mural as a part of the 2022 BUMP festival called ‘PORTAL MAKER’. Since 2023, Sterling has expanded his creative vision to the world of film and fashion with his first short film JINN JULIAN, debuting at the Calgary International Film Festival. A companion exhibition to the film, JULIANS DREAD, debuted in Medicine Hat in January 2024.

CONTRA (BUMP, Foreignerz)

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CONTRA (BUMP, Foreignerz)

CONTRA is a multidisciplinary artist who navigates the Canadian arts and culture landscape as a musician, filmmaker, curator, and creative director. Her most prominent project to date is through her work in Cartel Madras, an expansive and experimental music project now signed under the legendary Sub Pop Records. As a founding member of the FOREIGNERZ art & production house her artistic journey has also brought her into the world of filmmaking, through which she builds worlds and portals as a director & producer. To date, she has produced over fifty projects under FOREIGNERZ, ranging from documentaries and commercials to short films. Challenging cities, industries, and narratives to allow new voices in is at the very centre of how CONTRA pursues all her creative endeavours; furthering culture and allowing art to thrive. Her leadership in the arts has lead to her being sought out for her creative direction and artistic philosophy by various arts institutions in Calgary and Canada including Sled Island, Calgary International Film Festival, Arts Commons, Pink Flamingo, Pop Kultur Berlin, Debaser, BUMP Festival, Calgary Queer Arts Society, Beakerhead and more

Using her eclectic professional background within the creative sector, CONTRA has been able to combine her artistry with business strategy and marketing acumen with initiatives through her collective and work with other Calgary based arts organisations. Through her work in Cartel Madras, she has developed counter-culture showcases for new artists while touring extensively within Canada & The United States giving her an immediate, essential and thorough pulse of the underground across Canada. In 2021 she expanded her expertise into overseeing the creation and production of art exhibitions, digital series and documentaries and was the curator of the inaugural Arts Commons Incubator program for its 2021-2022 season. Since 2021, she has worked with BUMP Festival as their Creative Director. In 2023, her first short film JINN JULIAN, premiered at the Calgary International Film Festival.  She was Downtown Calgary’s inaugural Filmmaker in Residence for 2024 and was named Avenue’s Top 40 under 40 in November 2024.