Forum Hors les Murs (Off-Site Forum, Ircam, Montréal
Following in the footsteps of Taiwan in 2016, Chile in 2017 and China in 2019, it is Quebec's turn in 2020 to host the Forum Hors les Murs by Ircam, the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics & Music in Paris. Initially scheduled to take place on 2-5 April, the Forum has been postponed due to the Covid-19 Coronavirus public health crisis. Read about this key event for experts in sound and music technologies.
Updated on 07/04/2020
2 min
Founded by composer Pierre Boulez in 1977, the Ircam, the Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics & Music in Paris (Ircam) is one of the largest public research centres in the world dedicated to musical creation and scientific research. A unique place, where artistic foresight and scientific and technological innovation converge, the Institute is headed by Frank Madlener and brings together more than 160 specialised employees.
Ircam builds out its three main areas of focus - creation, research, teaching - through a season in Paris, tours in France and abroad and two annual events: ManiFeste, a combination of an international festival and a multidisciplinary academy, and the Vertigo forum, which casts light on developments in techniques and their marked effects on artistic creation.
The Off-Site Fora: a cornerstone of the Institute's international development
Created in 1993 and based on Ircam, the Forum attracts some 18,000 composers, performers, researchers, teachers and sound engineers from all over the world. Every year, it holds a workshop in Paris, and since 2014 has organised off-site workshops in partnership with universities and research and creation centres: Seoul in 2014, Buenos Aires and São Paulo in 2015, Taiwan in 2016, Santiago de Chile in 2017 and Shanghai in 2019. These events offer artists and audio professionals the chance to meet and discuss innovative music and sound technologies, enriched by the know-how shared by the Ircam teams and by concerts.
The Forums Hors les Murs play a special part in Ircam’s international strategy. They attract the attention of universities, conservatories, cultural sector players and audio professionals – sound engineers, music computing directors, artists, researchers, professors and local businesses – and help develop medium- and long-term partnerships with cultural institutions.
Montreal 2020
For its 2020 edition in Montreal, the Ircam Forum is scheduled over three days, with numerous conferences, hands-on workshops, arts residency outings at the Society of Technological Arts (SAT), concerts and professional events. It also includes a forward-looking view on technological developments, and encourages discussion between artists and researchers. An international call for submissions will be launched for professionals based in North America.
A look back at the Ircam Shangai off-site forum workshops (2019)
The Institut français has supported Ircam’s Hors les Murs Forum since its very first edition in Korea in 2014, through the IFcooperation programme.
The IFcoopération programme offers support to French structures and artists for projects carried out jointly with foreign structures and artists. These can be joint creative works, or teaching actions (repertoire, techniques).
During ManiFeste 2015, Ircam also hosted the first Contemporary Music Focus organised by Institut Français. 55 international professionals from all over the world came to Paris, invited by Institut français and the cultural network, to find out first-hand about French musical creation in all its diversity.