Alex de las Heras (b. 1982) 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 at Concordia University’s Department of Theatre. He is also affiliated with the CISSC (Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture) and PULSE (Performative Urbanism Lab for Spatial, Social, and Scenographic Experimentation) at Concordia University.
Additionally, Alex 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 Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (Spain). In 2021, Alex was a Research Visitor at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
Alex holds a PhD in Human and Social Sciences (Cum Laude) from the National University of Colombia, with a transdisciplinary background in Art and Experimental Design from the University of Art and Industrial Design Linz (Austria) and the University of the Basque Country (Spain). His studies in communication and public relations at Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) further enhance his interdisciplinary approach.
Rooted in Art-Based Action Research and Future Studies, Alex’s work explores speculative futures through festive happenings—moments of collective joy and cultural celebration that serve as drivers of transformation. His current research focuses on the role of artistic interventions in fostering a «techno-social collective» to promote healthier and more just societies, particularly in post-conflict Colombia. By integrating AI and VR technologies, Alex generates speculative peace scenarios that envision transformative, equitable futures.
As a Relational Artist, Alex specializes in Experiential Foresight Narratives, Research-Creation Practices, and Performance and Happenings. He has produced over 40 artistic works, including immersive performances, video installations, and public space interventions, exhibited internationally in countries such as Colombia, Austria, Spain, France, Mexico, and Germany. His work has been featured in venues like Museo Santa Clara de Bogotá (2023), ARS Electronica Festival (2020), UNESCO’s XIV Meeting of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Safeguarding Committee (2019), and OÖ Kulturquartier in Linz (2018), MemphisMemphis Gallery (2014), to name a few.
Alex is the co-founder of gula gula, a gastro-artistic collective exploring the synesthesia between food and art, and Expanderrr Collective, which reimagined disused public spaces through artistic intervention.
In addition to his artistic practice, Alex has served as Principal Investigator, co-investigator, and producer for various research-creation projects. He has curated several symposiums and performance happenings, including I Council of Festive Devils and Metágora 2019-2039 at UNESCO’s XIV Meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (2019), Shedding the Skin: The Future of Arts in a Post-Industrial Society (AFO Architecture Forum, Upper Austria, 2017), TransPorno: Porn, Trans, and Artistic Practices (2014), and Metafiesta: Politics of Ecstasy (University of Art and Design Linz, 2016), among others.
Alex has delivered workshops, presentations, and lectures internationally, including as a visiting professor at the Programa Salón Cano (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2020), Assistant Professor at the School of Visual Arts (Universidad Nacional de Colombia, 2019-2020), workshop facilitator and speaker at the XI International Encounter ‘The World Upside Down: Humor, Noise, and Performance’ (2019), lecturer at Universidad Jorge Tadeo Lozano (2018), speaker at Festival Interludios (Universidad Pedagógica Nacional, 2018), invited lecturer at the Institute of Contemporary Dance (Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität, 2014), and workshop facilitator at Universidad del Rosario (2022).