Slash Transition questions the place and role of the sound artist in a territory in transition.

The project was born from common questions shared by the project partners. Each organization works on a territory in transition (urban, social, economic, ecological, etc.) and questions the place and role of artists in these transformations.

The objective of Slash Transition is to answer these questions: how can a sound artist accompany changes in a territory while consolidating his/her career in a more virtuous way? How can an artist play a role in the fabric of the city?

For four years, a cooperation of seven partners will experiment with these questions. This experimentation will happen within 5 territories in transition: Innsbruck (Austria), Lisbon (Portugal), Nantes (France), Tbilisi (Georgia) and Tunis (Tunisia).

The partners:

— Trempo (Nantes, France) - coordination
— Casa do Capitão (Lisbon, Portugal)
— Mutant Radio (Tbilisi, Georgia)
— Heart of Noise (Innsbruck, Austria)
— L’art Rue (Tunis, Tunisia)
— L’art Rue VZW (Belgium)
— L’Ecole de Design de Nantes Atlantique (Nantes, France)

Next steps:

1. The “local hubs” - Autumn 2023
At the beginning of each round, in each territory, the local partner brings together a transdisciplinary working group (local hub). This group is made up of local actors and/or experts on the issues that emerge due to local transitions. The typology of actors is diverse: social institutions, public organizations, artists, researchers, city planners, etc. The group meets 5 times. It carries out a diagnosis and recommendations related to the territory that has been studied. It must also lead to the “local residency specifications” for the artist who will come in residency. There will therefore be 5 “local residency specifications” per round (1 for each territory of residency).

2. The training program - Spring 2024
Following the local hubs, 5 artists and 5 mentors will be selected: 1 artist from each country and 1 mentor - artist or not - from each territory. These 10 people will be trained in Nantes for about ten days around 2 issues:
- The transition themes that will have been highlighted in the “local residency specifications” of the local hubs
- How this type of project can fit into the career of an emerging musician.

3. The residencies - Summer 2024
Following this training, each artist will be assigned a host territory (which will therefore be different from their home territory). They will leave for a study trip of 3-4 days first, then for a residency of 3 weeks - at least - afterwards. On site, they will be guided and accompanied by the mentor. At the end of this residency, a public restitution will take place to present the artist’s work.

4. End of the round
Then comes the appraisal of the first 2 years that have passed. This is the moment to list the successes of the project and the difficulties encountered.

5. Second round - Spring 2025-Summer 2026
All the partners repeat the activities (1, 2, 3, 4) during a second round, with new thoughts within the local hubs - in the extension of what was done in round 1 - and new artists and mentors.

6. Final convention - Autumn 2026
At the end of the project, in September 2026, a European convention will be held in Lisbon (PT) to share and discuss what has been undertaken during these 4 years.

Website under construction… more info incoming!