Rupert Alternative Education Programme goes to Marseille
For the first time, Rupert’s Alternative Education Programme (AEP) participants will have a residency in Marseille, in collaboration with contemporary art and residency centre Triangle-Astérides. As part of The Season of Lithuania in France 2024, eight Lithuanian and international artists – Samuel Barbier-Ficat, Donna Marcus Duke, Gabrielė Černiavskaja, Ieva Rižė, Ieva Gražytė, Marketa Slana, Martyna Ratnik and Greta Štiormer will stay there for two weeks in October, participating in workshops, working with artist mentors, and developing and presenting their projects.
The Rupert AEP is a transdisciplinary para-academic programme centred around the principles of collectivity, performativity, and criticality, embracing non-linear, decentralised knowledge. A diverse group of artists and other cultural practitioners is selected annually to take part in the AEP for half a year. Through workshops, lectures, research trips, other collective engagements and individual mentoring sessions, participants develop and share their projects, in close relationship with Rupert’s curatorial team, guest tutors, and one another.
From 21 October to 3 November, in collaboration with Triangle-Astérides, the AEP participants will spend two weeks in residency in the vibrant city of Marseille where they will learn about the local art community and further develop their projects. The Rupert programme in France will culminate in an event on Ola Radio on Friday 1 November, where these artists will present their practices to audiences in Marseille and worldwide. This exchange is also meant to deeply impact the works that artists are developing for the AEP’s final event, which will take place on 28-29 November at the Composers’ House in Vilnius.
In addition to the work with Triangle-Astérides and Ola Radio teams, the AEP group will have workshops and mentorship sessions with Marseille-based artists Hannah Black, Mariam Benbakkar, and Madison Bycroft. Participants will also exchange with students at the Beaux-Arts de Marseille art academy, and meet other local cultural initiatives and practitioners.
This is the first time a Lithuanian art organisation has collaborated on a large-scale educational initiative with partners in Marseille, which will be followed by Triangle-Astérides curatorial visits to Vilnius for the AEP’s final event, later in November.
Triangle-Astérides is a centre for contemporary art and residencies based in Marseille at La Friche la Belle de Mai, a cultural cooperative located in a former tobacco factory, since 1994. Triangle-Astérides articulates a rigorous programme of exhibitions with research residencies for artists from international and French scenes outside Marseille and associate artists from the local scene, to which are added events, editorial projects, and a thorough outreach programme for all audiences.
Established in 2019, Ola Radio is a Marseille-based cultural online radio specialising in electronic music and avant-garde aesthetics. They aim to unite agents from various musical scenes and provide a creative platform for emerging artists. With a diverse and sophisticated program, Ola strives to be both cutting-edge and accessible.
The tutors for the AEP’s stay at Triangle-Astérides are three established international artists, all based in Marseille, whose research topics meaningfully connect to the participants’ projects. Hannah Black is a British artist, writer, and educator whose practice focuses on global capitalism critique, feminist theory, and the intersections of historical and contemporary forms of oppression, engaging with issues of race, representation, and political activism. Mariam Benbakkar is a Franco-Moroccan artist, photographer, and curator whose work focuses on exploring post-colonial narratives through guided city tours and performance. Madison Bycroft is an Australian artist whose practice is rooted in concepts of fluidity and resistance to fixed narratives incorporating theatrical elements such as pop/baroque costumes, awkwardness, self-sarcasm, and surreal landscapes in her work.
The programme’s theme, “Traversability and Transgressions,” was envisioned by former AEP curator Tautvydas Urbelis. This year’s programme is jointly led by Rupert’s current curators JL Murtaugh and Goda Palekaitė.
Rupert’s activities are funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The Alternative Education Programme’s activities in Marseille are co-curated with Victorine Grataloup (Triangle-Astérides) and funded by the Lithuanian Culture Institute and the French Institute. The collaboration was made possible thanks to Austė Zdančiūtė, the Lithuanian culture attache in France.