Artist Residency “Artificial Muse” in Vancouver
Musical creation & Artificial Intelligence

July 9 to august 9, 2024

Simon Fraser University – SFU

Simon Fraser University – SFU

Metacreation Lab for Creative AI

The 2024 call for applications is now open!
Deadline: April 28, 2024 at 23h59 (Vancouver time)

1- About the residency

1.1 – Introduction

Initiated by the French Embassy in Canada as part of their ” Résidences Ouest-Ouest “ program , in partnership with the Metacreation Lab for Creative AI at Simon Fraser University-SFU (School of Interactive Arts & Technology, Surrey), the very first edition of the “Artificial Muse” residency in musical creation and artificial intelligence will take place from July 9 to August 9, 2024 in Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

This artist residency is aimed at a French artist wishing to explore the crossover between musical creation and artificial intelligence. The residency offers a French artist the opportunity to work on a music creation project in a cutting-edge research and creation laboratory and in contact with a local artistic ecosystem.

Simon Fraser University (SFU), through its Metacreation Lab for Creative AI, will offer the selected artist a space in which to think and work. In contact with local researchers and creators, they will be able to develop a project and use and appropriate the systems, equipment and software resulting from the research work.

The residency also aims to enable the French artist to expand their professional network, create new synergies and strengthen links between France and Western Canada. Prior to the residency, several online meetings will be organised to establish and maintain initial contact between the winning artist in France and the host team.

Open to all musical practices, whatever the genre, this residency should enable a French artist to immerse themselves in the local Vancouver ecosystem in order to collaborate and enrich their practice.

1.2 – Course of the residency

From Tuesday July 9 to Friday August 9, 2024 in Vancouver.

1.3 – Objectives

  • Foster or consolidate a creative project based on innovative technologies.
  • Encourage discovery of Western Canada’s digital ecosystem, as well as structuring collaborations with local artists, researchers and start-ups.
  • At the end of the residency, the artist must agree to share their work(s) and submit a report on their experience, their work and the development of the project during this period.

1.4 – Advantages

This programme guarantees the laureate :

  • One month’s residency in Vancouver, including accommodation in the SFU Charles Chang Innovation Centre (flat in a university residence with private bathroom, in downtown Vancouver).
  • A production office within the laboratory (Metacreation Lab for Creative AI at Simon Fraser University-SFU), located on the Surrey campus, 40 minutes by metro from the accommodation.
  • Transport (flights from France to Vancouver and a monthly pass for public transport in Vancouver).
  • A residency fee of €2,000 (corresponding to per diems and attendance at three half-day lectures and master classes during the residency).
  • Networking and relations with the local ecosystem.
  • Participation in events in British Columbia.

Artists and researchers who will accompany the resident:

Equipment provided:

The objective and the creative constraint of the residency is to use one or more of the above systems in the production of one or more new works.

2- Eligibility criteria

2.1 – Profile of the candidates

  • Artist, creator or bearer of a musical creation project using MIDI as the main musical representation.
  • Familiar with digital audio software such as Cubase, Live (on MacOS), etc.
  • At least 18 years old.
  • Resident in France for at least 5 years.
  • Speak English.

2.2 – Accepted projects

This programme is open to all musical practices and genres (contemporary music, jazz, electronic music, pop, hiphop, etc.) in all their diversity.

3- Registration procedure

3.1 – About the Call for Application

The application :

  • Must be in English,
  • In a single PDF file,
  • Must be sent by e-mail to [email protected]
  • Until 28 April 2024 (23:59, Vancouver time).
  • is free of charge

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

3.2 – Required information

Before registering, we invite you to read the information and documents requested in the presentation pack to be enclosed with your application (in the same order as below):

  • ENG_application-residency-Artificial-muse-2024 (in English only)
  • a copy of your I.D. card or passport
  • a biography and CV
  • a portfolio of previous projects
  • a cover letter
  • a detailed statement of the project’s intentions
  • a provisional work plan for the residency
  • audio files of the project (if available)
  • a letter of recommendation and/or a letter from a French cultural institution accompanying the project with a view to future dissemination or production of the work (optional)

4- Selection and commitment

4.1 – Selection Committee

A professional selection committee will assess the eligible projects. Interviews with the shortlisted candidates will take place during the week of 29 April, between 8am and 11am (Vancouver time).

4.2 – Notification and official announcement

The laureate will be officially announced at the mid-May 2024. Beforehand, each applicant will have been notified by email of the selection committee’s decision regarding his or her application.

4.3 – Obligations of the laureate

Un contrat récapitulant l’ensemble des engagements de part et d’autre sera signé entre la lauréate / le lauréat et les partenaires du programme.

En amont de la résidence, elle / il s’engage à transmettre aux partenaires le plan de travail prévu pendant la résidence et à participer à quelques réunions virtuelles de travail préliminaire.

Pendant / à l’issue de la résidence, elle / il s’engage :

  • à mener à bien le plan de travail prévu ;
  • à participer à trois demi-journées de conférences et classes de maître durant la résidence à Vancouver ;
  • à prendre un temps à Vancouver, pendant la résidence, pour rédiger un compte-rendu de la résidence accompagné par les équipes du Consulat sur place ;
  • à présenter les développements créatifs du projet aux partenaires à l’automne 2025 ;
  • à faire figurer dans les crédits du projet et sur l’ensemble des supports de communication les logos qui seront transmis par les partenaires ;
  • à autoriser les partenaires de la résidence à communiquer ou à présenter le projet à des fins promotionnelles dans le cadre de leur programmation.

5- Timeline

28 March 2024 : opening of the call for application.
28 April 2024 (23:59, Paris time): deadline for submitting the applications.
Week of 29 April 2024 : interviews with the shortlisted candidates.
mid-May 2024 : notification of the results.

6- Contact

Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, at: [email protected]

7- Partners

The French Embassy’s Cooperation and Cultural Action Service

The first French diplomatic delegation to Canada was welcomed in 1928, and the embassy building in Ottawa was inaugurated in 1939. Since then, the French Embassy’s Cooperation and Cultural Action Service (SCAC) has worked tirelessly to promote exchanges between the two countries, in fields as varied as cultural and creative industries (immersive reality, video games, books, etc., which have become a major focus of cooperation), the visual and performing arts, residencies, university mobility and scientific cooperation, and educational cooperation.

This residency programme is supported in particular by the SCAC office based at the Consulate General of France in Vancouver, which is responsible for the entire consular area, i.e. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories.

“Artificial Muse” is part of a wider programme of residencies initiated by the Embassy in Western Canada, entitled “Les Résidences Ouest-Ouest”: in 2024, it will also offer creative residencies in immersive realities, exhibition curating and links between the arts and quantum sciences.

Website : https://francecanadaculture.org/

Simon Fraser University-SFU / School of Interactive Arts & Technology / Metacreation Lab for Creative AI

Since 2008, the Metacreation Lab for Artificial Intelligence Creative has been a space for research and creation around generative systems. Whether through its scientific production of new algorithms and systems, partnerships with the creative software industry, or artistic practices using and criticising these same systems, the Lab’s mission is an interdisciplinary exploration of the partial or complete automation of creative tasks.

Website : https://www.metacreation.net

Partners