Avatar-MUTEK Residency 2024

Call for proposals

Avatar and MUTEK are keen to receive proposals for projects involving experimental sound practices such as the exploration of instrument hijacking or invention, modular synthesis, circuit bending or the development of software and electronic interface programming. The residency includes a performance at the 25th edition of the MUTEK festival, to be held in Montreal from August 20 to 25.

Only projects that fall within Avatar’s mandate will be considered. This call for submissions is open to artists of all origins, residing in Canada. Only solo artists and duos will be considered. The selected artist or duo will be welcomed in residence at Avatar, in Quebec City, for the creation of a performative sound art piece. The work must be finished, in progress or to be finalized. Completed works will not be considered for this call.

New deadline to apply: November 19, 2023

Photo credit: Joël Lavoie et Guillaume Vallée, Champs Vagues, MUTEK 24th Edition, by Charline Clavier

Residency conditions offered by Avatar:
Production fee: $2,300.
Residency period: July 29 to August 22, 2024.
Location: Avatar, Méduse, Quebec.
Lodging and per diem for artists from outside Quebec City.
Transportation covered up to $1,000.
Technical support: 30 hours (before and during residency).
Access to Avatar studios and equipment.

Presentation conditions offered by MUTEK:
MUTEK offers optimal conditions for artists. The exact location and date of the performance will be determined (August 23, 24 or 25) by the programming team according to the work created. MUTEK takes place in Montreal from August 20 to 25, 2024.
The artist will receive distribution rights according to the festival’s rates.
Transportation and lodging are covered for artists from outside Montreal (duration depending on performance date).
Each artist receives professional accreditation for the MUTEK festival.

Interested artists are invited to complete the form, providing the following:

  • a bio and CV (max. 4 pages),
  • a project description (1200 words max.) or a short video (4 mins max.),
  • your project timeline,
    examples of previous work (YouTube, Vimeo, web links, jpeg or pdf files attached),
  • documentation and/or sketch of the proposed project (YouTube, Vimeo, web links, jpeg or pdf files attached),
  • your technical needs during the residency and for broadcasting.

Only the selected artist or duo will be contacted, by the end of 2023 at the latest.

Your application must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm on November 19, 2023.

For any questions: [email protected] / 418 522-8918 ext. 2

Avatar is dedicated to the research, creation, production, dissemination, publication, and circulation of audio and electronic artworks and artists.

To support creation, Avatar organizes projects, invites artists, reflects on practices, and encourages new collaborations through local and international networks. Located in the heart of Québec City, Avatar offers a venue for interactions and initiatives, explores new artistic terrains, and provides access to equipment and specialized skills.

Since its founding in 1993, Avatar has been an innovator in audio and electronic arts research in North America. At Avatar, audio and electronic creation covers a broad range of activities, including the creation of listening devices, the invention and circuit bending of instruments, sound installation, performance, radio art, and sound sculpture. Audio art crosses the fields of music, visual arts, and poetry and is open to hybrid forms of audible performance, sound excavations, and acoustic environments. Avatar also develops programming of custom-made software and electronic interfaces, as well as interactive and kinetic installation systems and telematic works.

Avatar hosts artists, researchers, thinkers, hackers, and students, listening to their needs and adapting itself to support the most unconventional artistic dreams.

MUTEK is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the dissemination and development of digital creativity in sound, music, and audio-visual art. Its mandate is to provide a platform for the most original and visionary artists currently working in their fields, with the intent of providing an outlet of initiation and discovery for the audiences we seek to develop.

MUTEK’s principal activity is the annual presentation of its namesake festival, which has taken place in Montreal since 2000. The festival is conceived as a space for discovery and encounters which encourages exchanges between the public and the artists. Strongly established in the Montréal community, the festival supports local artists while inviting spectators to discover the best of foreign creativity.

In addition to musical and audiovisual performances of live electronic music as well as installations and digital works of art, the professional market MUTEK Forum offers conferences, workshops and discursive content related to creative, technological, social and societal issues, along with many networking opportunities.

In 2020, Avatar and MUTEK are initiating a partnership to offer audio and electronic artists a four-week creative residency in Avatar’s Quebec City studios and a showcase at MUTEK Montreal.

Photo credit (header): MUTEK | Vivien Gaumand

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