Axis Description
For this axis, digital creativity involves exploring the possibilities for developing and enriching the creative experience and facilitating the distribution of digital works. In this area, the Chair focuses on the animation and visual effects industries, video games and immersive experiences, to stimulate innovation, encourage artistic creation and foster the emergence of new forms of cultural expression.
The main objective of this axis is to identify crucial issues within the digital creative industries, particularly in the areas of effects (VFX), animation, video games and digital experience (Xn) sectors, in order to foster research, training and development in this sector.
Head
Laureline CHIAPELLO (Ph.d.)
2 Quebec Universities
Patrick Cohendet, HEC Montréal

Patrick Cohendet is professor at HEC Montréal in the International Business Department. His research interests include Economics of Creativity and Knowledge Management, Economics of Innovation, Theory of the firm, Economics of Knowledge. He is member of the Royal Society of Canada.
He is the author of 20 books and over 120 articles in refereed journals, such as Research Policy, Organization Science, Industrial and corporate Change, Journal of Economic Geography, Long Range Planning, etc. He was the supervisor of more than 80 Ph.D. He conducted a series of economic studies on the economics of innovation for different international organisations such as the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the European Space Agency or the Canadian Space Agency. He is co-director of the hub Mosaic at HEC Montréal on the management of innovation and creativity.
Yan Breuleux, NAD-UQAC

Yan Breuleux is a Full Professor at the School of Digital Arts, Animation, and Design (NAD), Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC). A practitioner-researcher and visual artist working in the field of A/V performance, his work is grounded in a research-creation approach dedicated to visual music and immersive dispositifs, exploring the relationships between sound, image, and space. For over a decade, he has collaborated with musicians and composers on the creation of audiovisual works for multi-screen, panoramic, architectural projection, and full-dome (fulldome) environments. As part of the duo PURFORM, in collaboration with composer Alain Thibault, he has contributed to numerous immersive projects exploring the sensory, spatial, and performative dimensions of sound and image.
Grants
FRQSC
Chaire de recherche en économie créative et mieux-être (CREAT)
Role: Head of Digital Creativity Axis.
Value: $4,000,000 ($1,000,000/axis).
Duration: 2022-2023 to 2027-2028 (5 years).
Mais qu’est-ce que le fruit du mûrier? Valoriser et transmettre l’expérience vécue des femmes dans le processus de design de jeu vidéo.
Soutien à la recherche-création pour la relève professorale
Role : Principal researcher
Value : $44 723
Duration : 2022 à 2025
Attirer et retenir les talents en région pour favoriser l’entrepreneuriat innovant au Québec
PERSÉIS
Role: Collaborator (Principal researcher : Julie Bérubé, UQO)
Value : $380 627
Duration : 2023-2024 à 2025-2026
“En jeu pour la musique” – Jouer et cocréer pour apprendre la musique : retombées et innovations
Soutien aux équipes de recherche
Role: Co-researcher (Principal researcher : Francis Dubé, Université Laval).
Value: $269,612
CRSH
La collaboration interdisciplinaire dans les équipes de développement de jeux vidéo
INSIGHT
Role : Principal researcher
Value : $69 454
Duration : 2022 à 2024
Analyse comparée des transformations des activités de création par les technologies d’intelligence artificielle – adoption, usages et stratégies d’innovation
INSIGHT
Role : Collaborator (Principal researcher : Laurent Simon, HEC)
Value : $91 000
Duration : 2024 à 2026
HEXAGRAM
Hexagram réseau de recherche-création en arts, cultures et technologies
FRQSC – Regroupement stratégique
Co-researcher since 2023. Hexagram has received an additional $1,827,000 to cover seven years, from 2020 to 2027.
Publications
Book chapter
Chiapello, L., Paillon, C. (2025). Scenic : la téléprésence au service de la culture entre régions. Dans Bérubé, J. et Paquette, J. (Eds.), La culture en région : réussites et défis à relever (pp. 1-10). Éditions JFD.
Projects Digital Creativity
Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Video Game Development Teams
News
CREAT Research Chair at the ACFAS
Call for papers – Special Issue
Laureline Chiapello publishes an article in ACFAS Magazine
Research notebook
Laureline CHIAPELLO co-directs a new collection at PUQ360
HOMAGE AWARD presented to Michel Vallée
Conference webcast Registration
EDIA directory of the CREAT Chair
Tribute Awards
EVENTS
CLTRS in the Hexagram selection at the Village Numérique of the MUTEK Festival
CREAT Conference, May 21-22, 2026
Laureline Chiapello at the Sommet de l’innovation en jeu vidéo
International and Local Reach of Research-Creation in Digital Creativity
Game design to raise awareness and prevent gender-based and sexual violence
The Digital Creativity stream at ISEA 2025
Laureline Chiapello presents her research at the CISC symposium in Toulouse
Launch of “La culture en région: réussites et défis à relever” book
Invitation to “Symphonie arctique — L’art et l’IA au service de l’écorésilience”
Dive into the heart of creation with LUDODROME!
Series of lunchtime conferences
CREAT Conference, November 4–6, 2024
Laureline Chiapello at CIFFEL and CGSA Conferences in Montreal
First edition of PRISE, Numeric Creativity Festival
Art Game Symposium and Exhibition 2024
CREAT Game Jam 2024
The CREAT Research Chair in Montpellier
Laureline Chiapello, head of Digital Creativity Axis, presents the first demo of her video game on female pleasure, in Japan
90th ACFAS Congress: Mapping, mediating and promoting creative activity in Quebec for the well-being of citizens
Latest Podcasts & Videos
Episode 1 – The CREAT Chairheaders
This episode features four interviews with the headers of the Research Chair in Creative Economy and Well-Being (CREAT). Learn more about their backgrounds, areas of interest, and research.
Reflections on Social Design
Produced in the wake of the symposium Beyond Social Innovation: Social Design?, this podcast extends the discussions by giving a voice to invited guests. It offers a broader perspective on reflections surrounding social design and its role in addressing contemporary social, cultural, and environmental challenges.
Enjoy listening!
Music & Immigration project
The Discoverability Axis supported the production of an outreach video related to the project Music & Immigration, an online cultural mapping initiative highlighting the musical practices of professional immigrant artists in Quebec.
The project is led by two CREAT members: Caroline Marcoux Gendron (UQAM), collaborator of the Discoverability Axis, and Guillaume Blum (ÉTS), Head of the Axis. It is part of ongoing research on the visibility and accessibility of cultural content.