At the Embassy of Foreign Artists
La Jonction: the meeting point of the Rhône and Arve rivers in Geneva
From July through the end of September, Passepartout Duo had a very special opportunity: three months in residence in Geneva, Switzerland at the Embassy of Foreign Artists. It was our longest residency to date and we are very happy that it was offered to us by such a supportive and inclusive institution. The extra time we were given to reflect on our practice was indispensable after jumping from one country to the next for so long.
The Embassy itself is a bizarre kind of paradise. You might forget where you are, heading away from Geneva’s slick city center lined with banks and ambassadors of the world, to these hidden and graffiti-lined alleys of a more industrial Carouge. A small turquoise door leads to the Embassy’s main courtyard where its two buildings face each other, surrounded by gardens. This complex provides artists with a kind of protection: three months of dedicated time, the resources needed to make work, a generous stipend, and a valuable insight into the local community of artists and venues. Also, delicious hummus, nice local wines, and meringues always come as a bonus!
Our Project / Concerts
A section of our portable setup, made in Geneva
Our project focused on building, and writing music for, small portable instruments that we could carry around in our suitcase. It took about two months to build the instruments and write the music, with one last month focused on rehearsing, performing, and recording.
We were able to perform all over the city in different kinds of venues that were each inspiring in their own right. The amazing Théâtre de L’Orangerie hosts a series of outdoor concerts in the Parc de la Grange, the Ondulor concert series provided a unique alternative venue for the experimental electronic music scene, and Heike Fiedler hosted us for an intimate house concert.
Around the City / Life in Geneva
The relaxing summer atmosphere that takes over the city provided an opportunity to really socialize and get to know the work of many local musicians. We enjoyed so much learning from the other residents about string instruments (Anna-kaisa Meklin on viola da gamba, and Elise Macmillan on hardanger fiddler), and even the sediments of the Rhône river from Estelle Jullian’s project. Our neighboring residence also brought us to know Jon and Karin from Sandviken in Sweden, another artist couple.
The summer also opens up the city for many events, like La Bâtie festival with so many innovative moments, or some very special sunrise concerts every morning just by the lake.
Some Extra Fun
For us, there’s this distinctive memory of biking that links so many places we travel. We have such fond memories from Åland, Finland and Norway on bikes, and now Geneva joins that collection as well. So it happened that one day, without much training nor warming up, we set off with the idea of biking all along the lake from sunrise to sunset; we did reach Lausanne by 1pm, then slowly made our way back.
