06/15/2026
The 2026 COHDS Summer Institute “Storytelling and Social Justice” has officially wrapped up, ending on a note of tremendous energy and enthusiasm. Participants and organizers delighted in learning from and with each other over the past few weeks as students, artists, scholars, and community partners came together for an intensive exploration of storytelling, social justice, activism, and oral history methodologies rooted in community care and connection.
Funded by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Explore grant, the 2026 Summer Institute centered on the theme "Social Justice and Storytelling: Towards Post-Traumatic, Intergenerational Growth." This year, VK Preston and Florent To Lay (@ SKOL) had the privilege of serving as co-instructors, alongside Gabryelle Iaconetti as Teaching Assistant.
This year’s seminar, which ran from May 13 to May 29, engaged deeply with oral history and creative practice, arts and critical theory, public history, micropublications, and community-facing research. In collaboration with Montreal artist-run Centre des arts actuels SKOL and its COMMUNITIES project, the Institute explored intergenerational collaboration, community spaces, ecology, and 2SLGBTQIA+ artistic practices.
Through hands-on workshops, collaborative projects, and theoretical discussions, students examined the transformative power of storytelling within activist and social justice movements. The Institute also highlighted critical methodologies such as shared authority, oral history performance, and creative forms of micropublication including artist books, graphic novels, photo essays, and zines.
This year’s cohort of students were also incredibly fortunate to hear from and meet with a number of fantastic guest speakers and collaborators, including well-renowned journalist of historic 2SLGBTQIA+ life in Montreal Richard Bugs Burnett; longtime social justice activist Stefan Cristoff; community organizer in Janet Lumb; and social geographer and historian of le***an life in Montreal Dr. Julie Podmore, and Professors Barbara Lorenzkowski, Steven High, and Désirée Rochat, as well as other members of the COHDS and Montreal arts communities.
