Artist: Khosro Berahmandi
Venue: Avant-Chœur
*Opening: August 20, 6:30PM, Grande Salle

The earth is the flesh of the eye. Both are round and majestic.

Labyrinth Eye is a selection of works by the painter Khosro Berahmandi. Rooted in a terrestrial imaginary, this body of work echoes the artist’s gaze and illuminates its scope:

“With our horizontal eyes, we see neither subterranean life nor sidereal life, and we must develop vertical eyes to perceive our destiny, in bone and in dust. In my work, I paint life in its future state —a future I have constructed myself. I trace the flesh that will merge into bone, the bone that will return to earth, and the earth that will rise again within the body. In this dizzying circle, we mingle with other bones, those that belong to animals. When the earth becomes body, it is composed of all these materials. This embodies knowledge. And when you carry this knowledge, there will emerge from you a being that is part animal, part human, part vegetal, part lithic, and part liquid. These beings have vertical eyes and bear a circular vision. They remember that the past and the future belongs to them.”

The works gathered in this exhibition bear witness to this intimate vision in which the eye becomes the organic center of the universe.

The quoted passage is drawn from an interview with Roseline Lambert, published in the journal Liberté (no. 350, March 2026).

EXHIBITION HOURS:

Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Thursday to Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m.

To visit, please check in at the reception desk of the Museum Trail, 61 Ambroise-Fafard Street.

Artist: Emmanuelle Marion
Venue: Jardins de François

A moment of clarity and complete presence during a unique Iyengar yoga workshop, nestled in the lush setting of the Jardin de François.

Practicing in the heart of the gardens adds a vibrant dimension to the experience: the feel of the earth beneath feets, the whisper of the wind, and the beauty of the surrounding flora become precious anchors that help refine our perceptions and calm the nervous system.

Iyengar yoga is distinguished by its focus on physical alignment and anatomical precision. This session will be an opportunity to ground yourself firmly, open up your breathing space, and treat yourself to a moment of full presence.

Artist: Ryunosuke Yamazumi
Venue: Salle des archives

Origami, the subtle art of paper folding, originated in China and was introduced to Japan by Buddhist monks. It is a wonderful way to stimulate creativity. These activities help develop your imagination as well as your hands-on skills. Different levels of folding difficulty make it possible to adapt the origami projects to the ages and abilities.

Artist: Laurence Ly (curator) and filmmakers
Venue: Grande Salle

Somewhere, a small fire blazes, crackles, sparkles, dances, and risks dying forever with the images, yet never truly going out.

The Trying to play with fire program features several of the award-winning films from the third edition of Asiate en court at the Festival Accès Asie, held in May 2026. This short film competition showcases the work of Canadian filmmakers of Asian descent and supports the promotion of their artistic visions.

Program and Synopsis:

I Never Promised You A Jasmine Garden – Teyama Alkamli (20mins)
Tara, a queer Palestinian woman in her late 20s, attempts to suppress her internal emotional turbulence during a phone call with her best friend Sarab, with whom she is in love.

NDDJ (Notre-Dame-Du-Jambon) –  Grace Singh, Sita Singh (19mins)
Karan and Rohan, two biracial brothers raised in an alternative, unique and marginal environment, are creatively finding ways to occupy time. Like many kids, going on a trip to buy candies often seems like a great option to avoid boredom. In the legacy of a docu-fiction, this film plays with the sense of boundaries between what is real and what is fiction.This short film is an ode to the power of reality and fiction, about the love of two brothers, and the countryside’s beauty.

Still Moving – Rui Ting Ji (11 mins)
After her divorce, a mother drives a rented moving truck with her daughter in the passenger seat. The two head into a new future, only to discover the pain and difficulties of leaving the past behind.

Becoming Air – Alisi Telengut et Diego Galafassi (6 mins)
Take a deep breath. As you exhale, imagine that in about three years, anywhere you would go on the planet you will find molecules that were inside you in this moment.

Ran Som – Richard Dang (12 mins)
Two small-time burglars kidnap the son of a wealthy businessman, demanding twenty thousand dollars. But when they discover that the boy is a victim of harsh discipline at home, they face a moral dilemma that blurs the line between criminals and protectors.

Paradise Heights –  Karl Kai, Robert Mentov (23 mins)
A 7 year-old narcoleptic girl discovers an otherworldly bond to her late mother’s past within dreams of the Burmese jungle.

Artist: Ryunosuke Yamazumi
Venue: Le Marché Public

Ryunosuke offers a dynamic and poetic roaming performance that combines high-level juggling, mime, clowning, and audience interaction.

As he moves throughout the festival site, he creates moments of surprise and connection with spectators of all ages.

Following a designated route, he freely wanders through the festival grounds, stopping here and there to present short juggling and acrobatic performances.

At several points along the way, he performs an impressive juggling demonstration involving up to five balls manipulated with a pole — a rarely seen technical feat in roaming entertainment.

But the true essence of this performance lies in the interaction with the audience. Ryunosuke invites spectators to participate: learning how to spin a ball on a finger, trying to balance a ball on the neck, or simply sharing a playful and spontaneous moment together.

For approximately 30 minutes, he transforms the festival walkways into a circus playground where wonder, humor, and participation create a warm and festive atmosphere.

A lighthearted, spectacular, and accessible performance — perfect for bringing festival spaces to life and creating unexpected memories.

Alisi Telengut  is a Canadian artist of Mongolian origin, living between Berlin and Tiohti:áke/Montréal. Her work received multiple awards and has been screened and exhibited internationally, including at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Whitney Museum, Annecy, Sundance, TIFF, Videonale, among many others. Her films were nominated for the Canadian Screen Awards and for the German film critique awards.

Diego Galafassi is a director, writer and producer of documentaries, experimental film, new media and participatory performance. Diego is a transdisciplinary artist from Brazil with a practice grounded at the interface of art, sciences and co-creative processes. Galafassi’s ‘Breathe’ is an awarded mixed-reality experience that premiered at the New Frontier Program at Sundance Film Festival 2020.

Emmanuelle Marion is a certified yoga teacher, registered massage therapist and founder of Yoga Charlevoix, where she has worked for almost fifteen years to create a space of well-being for the members of her community.

Her practice is based on Iyengar yoga, meditation, nidra yoga and various therapeutic body techniques, with a marked expertise in adapted yoga for people with reduced mobility.

She teaches in various contexts: festivals and healing places, seniors’ centers, CEGEPs, community organizations, hotels and at her studio in Baie-Saint-Paul.

Through her teaching, Emmanuelle wishes to offer concrete tools to untie the body, soothe the mind and cultivate a living and free presence.

With an international experience—Mexico, France, Asia and Europe—and polyglot, she nurtures a deeply human approach, sensitive and rooted in openness.

Graduated from Concordia with a major in film production and a minor in studio arts, Grace D. Singh is a multidisciplinary artist. She practices filmmaking and writing and illustrating. She also has a diploma in documentary filmmaking from Rivière-du-Loup’s CEGEP. Grace’s work is a dive into the fringe, ugliness and sublime beauty. Her cinema practice is informed by communautaristic values and selfrepresentation as a formal tool to create artwork.

Karl Kai is a Hong Kong-born Canadian writer, director, and editor. His films, showcased at FNC (Festival du Nouveau Cinéma) and DOXA, blend naturalism with a surreal, lyrical quality. Working with both actors and non-actors, he crafts immersive, emotionally resonant narratives driven by authenticity and deeply felt performances.

Arriving in Canada in 1983, Khosro Berahmandi is a multidisciplinary artist, born in Iran and based in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal since 1989. Trained in visual arts at Concordia University and the University of Paris VIII, he pursues a prolific practice that combines painting, drawing, installation, and media art. His work, presented in over fifty solo and group exhibitions across Canada, Europe, and the United States, is recognized for its symbolic depth and visual richness. Recipient of the Charles-Biddle Prize in 2022, Khosro develops a visual language imbued with dreamlike imagery and narrative tension, where a  semi-figurative, enigmatic, and captivating bestiary shapes a singular aesthetic, operating on the margins of dominant Western artistic codes.

Of Cambodian and Vietnamese origin, Laurence Ly holds a master’s degree in cinema and moving image from UQAM and a diploma in directing from L’inis. He has directed the web series LES LAURIERS (2022) and the short films CORRESPONDANCE (2022) and LE PETIT PANIER À ROULETTES (2024), which have been shown at local and international festivals. His next short-film project, with the support of the CAC and CALQ, is LA NUIT DU CANTONNIER, a fantastical tale of a Chinese road-mender in 1939. He works as a producer, director and screenwriter, and curates and programs films for Festival Accès Asie.

Natsumi Sophia Bellali is a dancer and choreographer born in Montreal to a Japanese mother and a Moroccan father. Trained at The Ailey School in New York (class of 2017), she is a founding member of MICHIYAYA Dance and has worked as an understudy for the Mark Morris Dance Group. She deepened her artistic voice in Calling: a dance with faith, a creation in collaboration with Ping Chong + Company, presented as part of LaMaMa Moves! Dance Festival.

Her play Salam Tata was presented at the Festival de danse contemporaine de Sherbrooke, while her most recent creation, Watashi(tachi), began its development during a residency at the Scotiabank Dance Centre in Vancouver. Through her works, Bellali explores her identity as a child of immigrants in Montreal, addressing themes related to femininity, beauty standards, religion and cultural heritage.

In recent years, she has been part of the cast of the musical TOOTSIE presented at Espace Saint-Denis, BLUR at PHI , Entre nous sommes pris entre nous by Marilyn Daoust and Gabriel Léger-Savard, as well as a few episodes of Chanteurs masqués. She also increasingly welcomes the game in her artistic practice, notably by collaborating with Ex Machina / Robert Lepage as part of a creative laboratory around The Dragon Trilogy, as well as through advertising campaigns.

Ran Wang is a Chinese musician and sound artist based in Montreal. A guzheng specialist for over twenty years, she explores the boundaries between traditional music and contemporary creation. Trained at the Sichuan Conservatory and holding a master’s degree in Arts and Technology from the Université de Montréal, she develops an interdisciplinary practice that combines improvisation, sound art, and performance.

Her work questions cultural memory, gesture, and sound, while seeking new dialogues between the guzheng, electronics, and world music. A recipient of the Global Musician Workshop award from the Silkroad Project, she continues to pursue research on hybrid forms of collaboration and intercultural listening.

Richard Dang is a Cambodian Canadian director dedicated to authentic and accessible storytelling. He collaborated on Carleton University’s Passage of Freedom project, helping capture over 100 oral histories from Southeast Asian refugees. He is currently developing narrative features exploring Southeast Asian diaspora identities and experiences. He looks forward to sharing approaches to accessible filmmaking through community workshops and educational programs.

Robert Mentov is a Canadian filmmaker with over a decade of experience in independent cinema. He has studied under Apichatpong Weerasethakul and participated in international film labs with B2B Doc, Tabor, and Sacdoc. Currently, he is involved in the production of several feature films, including the Burmese documentary White Tiger Column.

Rui Ting Ji is a Canadian-Chinese animator and filmmaker based in Montreal, Quebec. Playing with new and old art forms, she works in animation, interactive narratives, documentary, and animated comics. She is most interested in sharing stories of hidden perspectives and finding beauty in the smallest details. Her films tend to focus on real people or issues, and have screened around the world. She has animated for award-winning documentaries, feature films and short films alike and teaches animation in college. Her most recent film, still moving,  is an animated short film exploring the liminal moment between “what was” and “what is next” between a mother and her daughter.

Ryunosuke is a multidisciplinary circus artist who mastered the art of balloon juggling, Chinese pole and wood balancing. From an early age, he was passionate about juggling and quickly distinguished himself on the international scene. He won a silver medal at the Japan Championship Otedama and a gold medal at the MJF Junior Competition in Tokyo, affirming his exceptional talent.

Fascinated by the circus world, he enriched his art by integrating dance and theater into his performances. As the first Japanese artist to attend the École de Cirque de Québec, he developed a unique act, mixing balloon juggling, the Chinese pole, and antipodism with puppets, which has become his signature.

His talent has taken him to the most prestigious stages, from Cirque du Soleil to circus festivals all over the world: Canada, Germany, the UK, Belgium, the USA, Africa, Australia, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and, of course, Japan. His spectacular act, featuring six giant balloons and an impressive balancing act on a Chinese pole, amazes crowds at every performance.

Among his many honors, he won the Talents Extrêmes 2009 competition, took second place on the Zoink’d TV show in Canada, and received the Special Jury Prize at the Izhevsk International Circus Festival in 2013, as well as the title of Circus Idol 2016 in Russia. In 2020, his show “Le Grand Cirque de Ryu” won the Prix d’En Piste at the FAR Festival in Montreal.

Always striving for innovation, Ryunosuke continues to push the boundaries of what is possible, captivating audiences with impressive technical mastery and his unique poetry of movement.

Sareh Borna is a Kamancheh player, music educator, and performer  based in Canada. She is a graduate of the Girls’ Conservatory of Music in Tehran and holds a  Bachelor’s degree in Iranian Music Performance (Kamancheh) as well as a Master’s degree  in Ethnomusicology from the Tehran University of Art, where she ranked among  distinguished students during her academic studies.  

Alongside her academic training, Sareh has developed an active career in both teaching and  performance. She has several years of experience teaching Kamancheh to students of  different ages and levels at recognized music institutions in Iran. Her pedagogical approach  combines technical development, Persian classical repertoire, ear training, and the  cultivation of each student’s individual artistic voice.  

As a performer, she has collaborated with numerous ensembles and orchestras in Iran,  including Tiar Ensemble, Arena Ensemble, Arnavaz Ensemble, Moj-e No Orchestra, and the  Tehran University of Art Chamber Orchestra. She has also appeared in important cultural  events such as the Fajr Music Festival. These experiences established a strong foundation in ensemble performance, stage presence, and the interpretation of Persian classical and  contemporary repertoire.  

Since continuing her artistic activities in Canada, Sareh has performed with a range of  respected ensembles and artists, including Constantinople, Raha Ensemble, Samazi Group,  and Ensemble Caprice. She also participated in the Nova Scotia tour Remembrances,  performing in intercultural settings that connected Persian music with broader  contemporary audiences. She also contributed as a performer to Ziya Tabassian’s album  SafarNameh.  

Sareh Borna’s artistic practice is rooted in the expressive traditions of Persian music while  remaining open to dialogue, collaboration, and new creative contexts. Through  performance, teaching, and cross-cultural projects, she continues to explore and share the  evolving voice of the Kamancheh with diverse audiences.

Sasha Ashwini is a contemporary dance artist whose works unfold through ethereal propositions, elemental energies, and alternative perspectives on time based on Indian thought systems. At the core of her practice is a belief that memory can live in the body across generations, and that it is ultimately the land that shapes who we are. Raised in British Columbia, in the Greater Vancouver Area, Ashwini’s early experiences were grounded by outdoor activities, such as hiking and camping in the coastal mountains. Ashwini was introduced to Indian Classical dance at a young age and established a professional practice at the age of fifteen. However, like many who experienced a shift in the wake of the pandemic, Ashwini found herself unable to continue performing Indian classical dance as before. She turned instead toward creating her own choreographic works that dive into power, resilience, and softness that resides in the feminine spirit, drawing inspiration from cycles of death and rebirth and the idea that all that is lost comes around new again. In April 2025, Ashwini received the second-place Louise Bentall Award for Emerging Choreographers from DanceHouse Vancouver, supporting her ongoing research for CROSSING DEEP WATERS, premiering in summer 2027.

Sita has a pluridisciplinary design practice. Immersed within material researches and explorations, she is also fascinated by visual communication and graphic design. Her approach is intuitive and Earthcentric. Being a second generation immigrant, she wishes to contribute to the empowerment of the BIPOC communities on the land where she grew up and lives. It is by surrounding herself with collaborators sharing similar motivations that she believes and works towards the decolonization of current paradigms.

Teyama Alkamli is an award-winning Syrian-Canadian writer, director, and producer living in Toronto. She is an alumna of DocNomads, the European Mobile Film School, Hot Docs Emerging Filmmaker Lab, the Canadian Film Centre’s Director Lab, and a current TIFF Talent Accelerator participant. Teyama’s film, Hockey Mom, was awarded Best Documentary Program at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards. Her other works have screened at international film festival such as Doc Lisboa, TIFF, and the Berlinale. She is currently developing her narrative feature debut, My Name is Jala.