The Australia Council for the Arts is delighted to announce a world first for Australian artists. The Australia Council is inviting Australian musicians, sound artists and media artists working in sound to apply for a 3-month residency in the AlloSphere at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Allosphere is a 30-foot diameter sphere built inside a 3-story near anechoic (echo free) cube. It allows for synthesis, manipulation, exploration and analysis of large-scale data sets in an environment that can simulate virtually real sensorial perception.

Scientifically, the AlloSphere is an instrument similar to the telescope, in that it enables scientists to see data in new ways that provoke insight. It’s used in fields ranging from nanotechnology to theoretical physics, from proteomics to cosmology, from neurophysiology to the spaces of consciousness, and from new materials to new media.

But it is has also been compared to a musical instrument or orchestra – something to compose for and to play. Artistically it offers the opportunity for the creation and performance of formally innovative new works and the potential to explore new modes of expression in an immersive environment, fusing elements of music, sound art, architecture, games  and more.

“The Australia Council is really excited about the possibilities that this residency opens up,” says Paul Mason, Director of Music at the Australia Council. “There’s a big community of musicians and sound artists worldwide who’ve been eager to get into the AlloSphere and see what they can create. There’s potential to work with sound in an entirely new way and to develop a whole new body of work that is truly original and innovative”

The Australia Council is the first organisation in the world to support a formal artist residency at the AlloSphere, providing Australian artists an unprecedented opportunity to work at the cutting edge of international research.

The residency is the result of a partnership between with the University of California Santa Barbara, where the facility is located, and the Australia Council’s Music Board and Inter Arts Office.

The Australia Council invites proposals for innovative and viable artistic research programs within the Allosphere.

For more details about the AlloSphere, see www.allosphere.ucsb.edu.
or more details about the residency, click here, or contact Australia Council staff Morwenna Collett (m.collett@creative.gov.au) or Andy Rantzen (a.rantzen@creative.gov.au).