Lab: February 1 – March 20, 2022

Exhibition: April 9 – August 14, 2022

From February 1 through March 20, the second floor of the Jones Center will function as a research laboratory and workshop in conjunction with the upcoming exhibition Tarek Atoui: The Whisperers.

Winner of the 2022 Suzanne Deal Booth / FLAG Art Foundation Prize, Tarek Atoui (b. 1980, Beirut, Lebanon) is a Paris-based artist and composer whose work explores the medium of sound. The artist’s solo exhibition will occupy the entirety of The Contemporary Austin – Jones Center from April 9 through August 14.

Atoui works collaboratively with instrument makers worldwide to create assemblages of custom-built materials he calls "tools for listening," which conduct and amplify sound in multisensory ways. Challenging the idea that sound is only for hearing, Atoui invites people to explore how sound resonates through materials such as wood, metal, and water and how they can access sound in a variety of ways, including by sight and touch.

Leading up to the exhibition, Atoui and The Contemporary have invited three musicians, each paired with members from one of three local community organizations, to work during two-week residencies with materials Atoui has provided. In the first week, the musicians will experiment with the materials solo or with invited musicians, and in the second week they will lead workshops with their community collaborators. As each musician and collaborator brings their unique sensibilities to the explorations, they will discover new possibilities for activating the materials and new modes of perceiving sound. The results and discoveries from this experimental and collaborative process will inform Atoui’s creation of new installations for The Whisperers.

Throughout the duration of Atoui’s exhibition, both scheduled and spontaneous performances by the musicians and community organizations will occur for the public.

Musicians-in-Residence and Community Collaborators: