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Artist News Management & Funding
PRS Foundation and British Council extend Musicians In Residence project to Brazil
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 29 September 2017
The British Council and PRS Foundation have announced a new project, which will take a selection of British musicians to hang out in Brazil for a month. Nice work if you can get it.
Musicians In Residence Brazil will take the chosen participants to one of the country’s major cites – either Rio de Janeiro, Recife or Cuiabá – where they’ll meet with local musicians, write new music, and explore creative and professional opportunities.
First up, Phantom Chips will head to Rio to take part in experimental music festival Novas Frequências; Lady Vendredi will work with the Paço do Frevo museum in Recife; and Nathaniel Mann will travel to the Xingu National Park near Cuiabá to collaborate with the indigenous Wauja people.
Says Mann: “It will be an extraordinary privilege to engage with the diverse musical cultures and histories of Brazil, and specifically those of the Wauja community of Xingu, in [the state of] Mato Grosso. I hope to open a musical dialogue which assists in amplifying the voices of the Wauja community, and eventually widens that dialogue to reach entirely new audiences. The works we create will explore the interconnectedness of traditional rites, music and the natural environment, exploring both Wauja and British musical traditions; all interwoven with more pressing contemporary themes of power and agency”.
Of the wider project, PRS Foundation chief exec Vanessa Reed says: “Based on the very positive outcomes of previous residencies we’ve supported with British Council, I’m convinced that Phantom Chips, Lady Vendredi and Nathaniel Mann will benefit enormously from this unique opportunity. I look forward to following the progress of their very different approaches to making music and to hearing about the relationship they build with local artists, communities and audiences. Congratulations on being selected for this important and popular programme”.
Reed mentioned the previous residencies there. Similar projects have taken place in China since 2011, involving artists including Imogen Heap, Oliver Coates and Anna Meredith. Last year also saw the first Musician In Residence project in the United Arab Emirates.
