Artist Residency “Artificial Muse” in Vancouver/Surrey

From November 1^st to November 30^th, 2026, in Vancouver and Surrey, BC, Canada.

• Foster or consolidate a creative project based on innovative technologies developed at the Meta creation Lab for Creative AI.
• Encourage the discovery of Western Canada’s creative technology ecosystem, as well as structuring collaborations with local artists, industry and academic researchers, students, start-ups, and larger creative tech companies.
• Participate in educational forums and student learning opportunities such as presentations, panels, critiques, workshops, and informal mentorship.
• At the end of the residency, the artist must agree to share their work(s) and submit a report on their experience, their work, and the development of the project during this period.

This program provides the laureate with:

• 4-week residency in Vancouver, including accommodation in a Airbnb unit onthe lively commercial drive neighborhood, and walking distance from the skytrain (of the local overground metro) and other public transportation.
• An office desk within the laboratory (Meta creation Lab for Creative AI at Simon Fraser University-SFU), located on the Surrey campus, 40 minutes by SkyTrain (using the skytrain Expo Line) from the accommodation.
• Transports (flights from France to Vancouver, and a monthly pass for public transport in Vancouver/Surrey).
• A residency fee of €2,000 (corresponding to per diems and fees for performances and presentation at, at least, three occasions during the residency).
• Networking and relations within the local cultural and artistic ecosystem.
• Participation in relevant events (e.g., artistic, creative, cultural, educational) in Vancouver and Surrey.

Artists and researchers who will accompany the resident

SFU :

• Philippe Pasquier (coordinateur de la résidence à l’Université Simon Fraser, et directeur du Metacreation Lab) :
• Arshia Sobhan
• Keon Lee
• Paul Triana

At SFU:

School of Interactive Arts & Technology shares research space and facilities, including access to sound studios, and recording equipment if required: https://www.sfu.ca/siat/spaces.html 

• Desktop and laptop computer with GPU (if required)
• Access to softwares :
  • Autolume: 
    https://www.metacreation.net/autolume
  • Cubase-MMM (Cubase licence supplied, MAC or PC: The multitrack machine model has been integrated into Cubase 13): 
    https://www.metacreation.net/projects/mmm-multi-track-music-machine
  • MMM4Live (plugin, Ableton Live activation supplied, requires MAC): 
    https://www.metacreation.net/projects/mmm4live
  • MMM-OP-Z (requires a Mac Mx, OP-Z supplied, OP-1 supplied): 
    https://www.metacreation.net/projects/opz-mmm
  • Calliope: 
    https://www.metacreation.net/projects/calliope

  • MIDI-GPT in Reaper: 
    https://www.metacreation.net/projects/midi-gpt

  • Model-bending objects in ComfyUI: 
    https://github.com/abuzreq/ComfyUI-Model-Bending

  • Fragmenta (Small data LORA for text to audio synthesis):
    https://misaghazimi.com/fragmenta 

The objective and the creative constraint of the residency is to use one or more of the above systems in the production of one or more new works.

This programme is open to all musical and sound art practices, and genres (contemporary music, jazz, electronic music, pop, hiphop, etc.) in all their diversity (live, installation, production, ...).

Before registering, we invite you to read the information and documents requested in the presentation pack to be enclosed with your application (in the same order as below):

• Application form : 

  eng_application-form-residency-artificial-muse-2026
• a copy of your French I.D. card or passport
• a biography and CV
• a portfolio of previous projects, with links to previous sound/musical outcomes.
• a short cover letter, addressing your background and motivation
• 1 page-statement outlining project goals with the Metacreation Lab for Creative AI, and illustrating how the Resident aims to engage and add value to the research, teaching, and production of the team.
• a provisional work plan for the residency (optional)
• audio files of the project (if available)
• a letter of recommendation (optional)
• a letter from a French art organization, institution or company accompanying/recommending the project for a future exhibition, performance or production of the work (mandatory).

The laureate will be officially announced in midJune 2026. Beforehand, each applicant will have been notified by email of the selection committee’s decision regarding their application.

A contract summarizing all the commitments on both sides will be signed between the laureate and the programme partners.

Prior to the residency, the laureate agrees to send the partners the work plan for the residency and to participate in a few preliminary virtual work meetings.

During/at the end of the residency, the laureate agrees to:

• Carry out the planned work plan;
• Participate in 3 formal engagements with students and community members (e.g., lecture, master class, workshop) during the residency;
• Take time in Vancouver, during the residency, to write a report of the residency accompanied by the Institut français du Canada’s team on site;
• Include in the project credits and on all communication media the logos that will be provided by the partners;
• Authorize the residency partners to communicate or present the project for promotional and research purposes as part of their programming.

Since 2008, the Metacreation Lab for Artificial Intelligence Creative has been a space for research and creation around generative systems. Whether through its scientific production of new algorithms and systems, partnerships with the creative software industry, or artistic practices using, evaluating, and criticizing these same systems, the Lab’s mission is an interdisciplinary exploration of the partial or complete automation of creative tasks.

Website: https://www.metacreation.net