Launch of the Villa Albertine: IRCAM, partner of the residencies of Roque Rivas and Sivan Eldar
After the Villa Médicis, the Casa Velasquez and the Villa Kujoyama, France has a new networked cultural institution that completely revisits the concept of a residency. Located in 10 major U.S. cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Washington DC), the Villa will host 60 exploratory residencies per year throughout the United States. These tailor-made residencies, lasting from one to three months, are intended for creators of all disciplines, researchers and professionals from the cultural world.
In order to embrace the vastness and variety of the American territory, but also to respond individually to the expectations of the residents, the Villa Albertine breaks with the historical model of the Villas (a single building in a single city). Accompanied by a team of 80 people, the Villa Albertine residencies are designed to multiply exchanges with American society and the creative ecosystem, thus nourishing an artistic and intellectual research project and creating a community at the service of the arts and ideas.
40 French cultural institutions are involved in this inaugural season, contributing their expertise to the accompaniment of the residents, before, during and after the residency. IRCAM is accompanying two composers: Roque Rivas in Boston and Sivan Eldar in New York.
Roque Rivas' residency in Boston
The music of Franco-Chilean composer Roque Rivas is inspired by the fine arts and architecture. During his residency at the Villa Albertine, he will focus on the concept of "synergy" developed by the American architect and inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller, creator of the geodesic dome. With the help of an American architect, Roque Rivas will seek to create a sound structure and scenography, following the three principles of Fullerian design: lightness, adaptability, and mobility. To do so, he will conduct sound recordings of urban and rural environments in New York and Boston, where he will also meet theorists and architects influenced by Fuller's thinking.
Sivan Eldar's residency in New York
Israeli-American composer and sound artist Sivan Eldar has collaborated with several major musical ensembles such as the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, the vocal ensemble EXAUDI, and the Diotima Quartet. She is currently composer in residence at the Opera orchestre national Montpellier and at IRCAM, where she is working on her first opera, Like flesh. As part of this residency, she will continue her work on exploring the relationship between pigments and spatialized sound through a sound and visual installation conceived for New York City, in collaboration with local musicians. Her project, tentatively titled "Living Matter," intends to explore and observe the subtle range of vibrations and resonances of different materials. This project will use a network of speakers installed at different points, and will also interact with live musicians.
A second season in 2023
The Villa Albertine is also launching a call for applications for the second season, from January to December 2023. The call is addressed to creators, researchers, or cultural professionals who have an original research project in the fields of arts and ideas, requiring an immersive stay in the United States. The call is open to all applicants who include a French partner in their project, and who demonstrate the ability to speak fluent English.
The residents of the inaugural season and the modalities for responding to the call for applications are presented on the Villa Albertine website.
Photo 2: Roque Rivas © Elisabete Da Silva Fernandes
Photo 3: Sivan Eldar © Laura Stevens