L’AiR Arts

My experience with L'AiR Arts residency program at Atelier 11 has had a lasting impact on my career and artistic practice. Supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, it gave me an opportunity to develop ideas for new work, dialogue with international artists and broaden my awareness of the global artistic landscape and my place within it. As part of a self-directed residency at Atelier 11, I created a dance film that has since been screened internationally. The development I fostered through my experiences with L'AiR has catapulted me forward in my artistic vision, self assurance and body of work.

My recent experience at Atelier 11 with L’AiR Arts afforded me a comfortable live-work space and a supportive community who helped me to focus on the creation of new work. The daily exchange of creative ideas, the communal meals, and an overall sense of camaraderie between myself, the team at L’AiR Arts, and former resident artists, helped me focus on the task at hand, continually feeding my inspiration. During my residency, I became aware of the history of Montparnasse and felt connected intergenerationally to the artists I admire. An original creative energy emanated from the walls of the atelier. I feel fortunate to have experienced its history and to count myself as one of the many artists propelling it into the future.

One of the most longstanding residencies located in the heart of Paris, where historic artists such as Modigliani, Soutine, and Foujita resided and created their works, Atelier 11 L’AiR Arts is a living heritage site and an international research residency dedicated to fostering cross-cultural exchange and contemporary artistic dialogue within a historically significant working environment—an opportunity to engage directly with a space that has shaped generations of artistic practice.