Alex de las Heras is a SSHRC-funded postdoctoral fellow at the Connected Minds Programme in the Department of Theatre and Performance at York University and a Postdoctoral Visitor in the Department of Theatre at Concordia University. He is affiliated with PULSE (Performative Urbanism Lab for Spatial, Social, and Scenographic Experimentation) at Concordia, where his work intersects the fields of future studies, art-based action research, and immersive storytelling. He holds a PhD in Human and Social Sciences from the National University of Colombia, awarded with Meritorious Distinction (Cum Laude). Additionally, he serves as a Research Assistant for the Hemispheric Encounters Network: Developing Transborder Research-Creation Practices and is a member of the Laboratorio de Estudios del Futuro at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Spain).
His research and artistic practice are rooted in speculative futures and the use of festive happenings and rituals - moments of collective joy, cultural celebration, and commemoration - as powerful drivers of social transformation. Alex investigates the potential of these shared experiences to catalyze societal change, often through immersive performances and public space interventions that activate urban environments and engage communities in reimagining the future.
Currently, Alex’s work focuses on exploring the role of artistic interventions in fostering a “techno-social collective” to promote healthier and more just societies, particularly within Colombia’s post-conflict context. By integrating AI and VR technologies, he creates an online serious game where participants can contribute ideas and visually explore collective visions through speculative peace scenarios that envision transformative, equitable futures. Additionally, he is developing ‘Speculative Fermentation’, a methodology that reimagines the process of fermentation as a metaphor for cultural adaptation and resilience, using the slow transformation of elements to envision sustainable futures and foster community engagement.
Beyond his academic contributions, Alex is an accomplished Relational Artist whose diverse practice spans happenings and performance, documentary, installation, curatorial and exhibition projects, and public interventions—all of which challenge conventional uses of urban environments and transform them into platforms for community engagement and creative expression.
His work has been exhibited and presented internationally in Colombia, Austria, Spain, France, Mexico, and Germany, reflecting a diverse engagement with cultural contexts and a commitment to using art as a means of fostering dialogue, envisioning transformative futures, and empowering communities to reimagine their social realities and collective identities.
Learn more on his personal website: www.alexdelasheras.es