Tristan Sasseville-Langelier

Tristan Sasseville-Langelier is a PhD candidate in art history (UQAM / Université de Montréal / Concordia University) and a member of the Centre de recherches Cultures – Arts – Sociétés (CÉLAT). Under the supervision of Ève Lamoureux, his research focuses on the affective overflows of revolt, politically resistant acts that have been psychiatrized, and contemporary practices in writing and performance art.

Supported by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), his master’s thesis examines the practices of three performance art artists in Quebec—Alegría Gobeil, Danny Gaudreault, and Adriana Disman—whose works address issues related to emotional suffering and psychiatrization. Drawing on Mad Studies and queer political theory, the researcher assesses how these artistic practices generate alternative forms of knowledge and constitute strategies of resistance to the normative discourses of psychiatry. With Lamoureux, he is the co-author of the chapter “Art, Mental Health, and the Professional Arts Milieu in Quebec: Decades of Diverse Practices” in the book À visage humain (2024), edited by Francine Saillant.

He is the recipient of the 2025 Librairie CLARK Prize.