Biography 

Paolo Almario (b. Colombia)

Paolo Almario is a Colombian digital artist based in Chicoutimi, Québec. Paolo has a Master of Arts degree from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UCAQ, 2014), and a degree from the Design and Architecture department from the Universidad de los Andes en Bogotá (Colombia). He is also an educator at the UCAQ, and in 2021, he co-founded Ubchihica, a research-creation centre based in Chicoutimi. Paolo is also the president of the Saguenay Arts Council. In 2018, Paolo was awarded the Creator of the Year prize in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean from the Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec (CALQ). His work has also been contemplated by several grants from the CALQ and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Paolo’s practice makes use of digital technologies, software art, electromechanical art, and installation work in order to explore notions of identity within power structures and architectural spaces. With the intent of probing into the ubiquity of digital technologies and their impact on our ways of thinking and being, he deconstructs the encounters between humans and machines, individuality and collectivity, and virtuality. His solo exhibitions include Entropie (Complexe culturel Joseph-Rouleau, Matane, QC, 2023; Centre d’art Jacques-et-Michel-Auger, Victoriaville, QC, 2020; Centre Bang, Chicoutimi, QC, 2016), Marmelade (L'Ecart Lieu D'Art Actuel, Rouyn-Noranda, QC, 2021; Pauline-Julien Cultural Centre, Trois Riviéres, QC, 2019), Léviathan (Caravansérail Artist Centre, Rimouski, QC, 2019) and Fauxrmé (OBORO, Montréal, 2015). His work has been featured in the dual and collective exhibitions Reimagining Mourning (Sur Gallery, Toronto, 2021); The Recipe: Making Latin-American Art in Canada (OBORO, Montréal, 2020); Datasets: Lumière: Strasbourg / Émissaire #2 (European contemporary artistic actions Center, Strasbourg, France, 2018); and Automata (International Digital Art Biennial, Arsenal Contemporary Art, Montréal, 2016), among others.