Villa Swagatam - French Institute in India

Residency brief

RRAP (Rajasthan Rural Arts Programme) aims to expand Rajasthan’s rural economy by conserving and repositioning traditional creative skills and transforming them into modern and sustainable assets. While focusing on Rajasthan’s human-based resources (traditional knowledge, performing arts, and legacy skills), RRAP intends to promote and enhance the region’s remarkable legacy of traditional folk music and performing arts, while providing a new field of rural employment in times of climate crisis, and dependence on carbon-based resources.

By taking part in the RRAP International Exchange Programme, the resident will engage in innovative collaborative projects with the performing artists of Rajasthan. This residency is conceived as a mutual dialogue between the French artist/curator and the members of RRAP’s artistic network, for the benefit and growth of all participants.

Our Space

Jodhpur (Rajasthan)

Jodhpur is the second-largest city in the state of Rajasthan. Although it is now considered an Indian Metropol, its most aesthetic value is the historic city center, including its central and iconic Mehrangarh Fort. The town was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur, the capital of the Kingdom of Marwar. Jodhpur is famous for its many palaces, forts, and temples, set in the stark landscape of the Thar desert. It is popularly known as the "Blue City," as many houses around the iconic fort are painted blue. Next to its tangible sites, the region is known for its intangible richness, including performing arts and crafts, but also education; hence it is the academic center of the state of Rajasthan, with its many institutes and universities. While staying in the historical heart of town, the resident will have the opportunity to work at multiple venues in the city, getting exposure and inspiration to all facets of the town and its environment.

Our Laureates

Lise Borel Singer

The voice represents us, identifies us. Beyond singing, there is a singularity of the spoken voice that transmits knowledge from generation to generation like a magic word. India is a place of narratives that makes me want to work on this idea of a voice that heals, that transmits and transforms.

Lise Borel is a young French composer whose favorite material is the voice. Her love of literature and the arts nourishes her creations. She is the winner of the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards 2021 and the Japan International Composition Competition 2021. She has been in residence at Ircam, the Académie Musicale de Villecroze, the Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud and in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Her works were played by prestigious performers (Philippe Jaroussky, Edgar Moreau, the Maîtrise de Radio France, the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame, the Aedes ensemble, the El Sistema Greece orchestra) and premiered in renowned venues: Théâtre des Champs Élysées, Les Invalides, Abbaye Royale de Fontevraud, Auditorium de Radio France, La Seine Musicale, Eglise Saint-Eustache, Amphithéâtre de la Sorbonne, Les Catacombes de Paris, etc. She has composed for the Fondation de France, the Institut de France, and the Education Nationale. Lise Borel is also assistant conductor at the Maîtrise de Radio France, where she teaches composition.