The Atlas Project Artist Talk

The Atlas project presents a talk by Christophe Fellay: Directed Live Composition, Curation and Energetic Conduction in Hybrid Artistic Practices

The event is a collaboration between The Atlas project and mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, hosted by the class of Angélica Castelló Garnett, Course for Electroacoustic and Experimental Music (ELAK), the Department of Composition Studies and Music Production. It takes place within the framework of the FWF PEEK project AR 721 The Atlas (of Creative Mechanisms): [Curating Conduction], directed by Senior Postdoctoral Researcher Basak Senova at the Institute of Art and Art Education, University of Applied Arts Vienna.

Christophe Fellay, a Swiss sound artist, musician and composer, is also Head of the Sound Department at EDHEA – École de design et haute école d’art du Valais (HES SO Valais). His research and artistic practice span a broad spectrum, including indisciplinarity, improvisation, active listening, acoustic phenomena, space, sound and architecture, documentation and archiving, soundscape ecology, digital art and participatory art.

In this talk, Fellay explores the parallels between musical conduction and curatorial practice in contemporary art, using his own artistic practice as a starting point. Through an analysis of creative processes, works and performances, the presentation examines how this approach to artistic creation articulates the direction of musicians and curation as a means of structuring, guiding and bringing together the creative energies of an ensemble, whether musical or interdisciplinary. Drawing on concrete examples from his projects, including directed live musical and sonic performances, instructions, protocols and collaborations with visual and performance artists, Fellay demonstrates how the conduction underlying his approach can be understood as a living metaphor for curation. The talk will include theoretical analysis and audiovisual excerpts from his works to illustrate these mechanisms.