Ei 2024: August 11-19
We are thrilled to welcome this season’s cohort to the Experimental Institute at Antenna Cloud Farm!
Artist-fellows: Hayley Qin, Ana Luisa Diaz de Cossio, Jimmy Lim, Robert Torres, and Mobéy / Lola Irizarry, with Artist-mentors: Xenia Rubinos, Mazz Swift, and Michi Wiancko, along with special guest Judd Greenstein, and virtual mentor PaviElle French.
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About the Ei:
The Experimental Institute is a fully immersive summer intensive that brings together a cohort of highly accomplished musical performing artists and activators in various stages of their careers, from talented students to renowned professionals. Institute programming is centered around collaborative exploration and learning, personal well-being, community resilience, and artistic excellence, with a curricular focus on project incubation, mentorship, and transformative institutional pedagogy. The Ei serves as a powerful prototyping and seed-planting space centered on holistic approaches to career-building and collective liberation. Now in its third year, The Experimental Institute is a 100% tuition-free, all-expenses-paid fellowship, thanks to community support through ACF fundraising and small local grants.
The Experimental Institute takes place during late summer at Antenna Cloud Farm in Western MA. The Ei is a 100% tuition-free, all-expenses-paid fellowship, thanks to community support through ACF fundraising and small local grants. Accommodations, meals, and ground transportation to/from the Ei are included in the fellowship.
What’s included in the program:
Music-making, performing, improvisation, and creativity workshops
Project sharing plus individual and collaborative project incubation
Meditation, mindfulness, and movement
Individual time for journaling and resting
Interactive discussions and workshopping with virtual guest artists
Musical activities, learning sessions, and discussion led by both mentors and artist-fellows
One-on-one career and artistic mentorship
Roundtable discussions (past topics have included: artistic practice, liberation, gender, music industry and institutional challenges, career-building, collaborative projects, how to engage with vulnerability, joy, and inspiration, etc.!)
Rotating meal crews and group cooking and tidying
Hiking, swimming, napping, hammocking, gardening, game night, movie night, etc.
…and more!
Apply to the 2024 Experimental Institute Fellowship!
Application deadline has been extended!
Due: May 15, 2024
“The Ei really allowed us to show up as like our whole selves, and to relate to each other from a space of love, curiosity, and mutual support. It was such a gift to be able to experience that.”
– Ceci Pineda (2023 Ei artist-fellow, musician, ecosystem caretaker, community educator and facilitator)
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Ei Fellowship Application is open to:
Musical artists who identify as performers of any instrument or voice type.
Composers and musical creators who maintain a performance practice.
Artists who are in early stages of their careers, who plan to pursue music as a life tradition or professional career.
Applicants must be 21 years of age or older.
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At this time, the Ei is not accepting applications from pre-formed ensembles. However, if your ensemble is interested in performing on the Antenna Cloud Farm summer festival series, please get in touch with us with information about your group (please note that response time may be several weeks).
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This year’s Ei is open only to artists and/or composers who maintain a performance practice, due to the nature of our programming and music-making curriculum.
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The Ei is a 100% tuition-free program, including all accommodations and meals. The Ei covers the cost of ground transportation to and from the Institute for all participants. However, we do not cover the cost of air travel. We can assist with travel arrangements upon request.
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The majority of institute programming will take place at Antenna Cloud Farm, a music festival and artists’ retreat that hosts artists in a large main house with guest rooms and communal spaces (including a large music room with grand piano), two small standalone artist cabins, a 2 bedroom retreat cottage, and 100 acres of land to explore.
Ei Community Agreements
To engage with kindness and patience, for ourselves and others.
To practice appreciation for other people’s perspectives and lived experiences.
To honor vulnerability and courage.
To practice curiosity and mindful listening.
To be respectful of others’ space and boundaries, as well as our own.
To embrace vulnerability and practice accountability.
To learn and grow in an anti-oppressive environment that is not fueled by white supremacy.
To engage openly in conversations around identity, as well as racist and anti-racist behaviors.
2023
Mentors & Staff (Top): Sarah Zahorodni, Mazz Swift, Xenia Rubinos, PaviElle French, Steph Davis, Michi Wiancko
2023 Fellows (Bottom): Anju Madhok, Caden Burston, Ceci Pineda, Abby Swidler
“I made so many important connections here. I feel like I'll definitely carry those with me and stay in touch with the cohort forever. I feel so much more grounded after being here. I feel like I have a clearer idea of who I am as an artist and what I want to be doing.”
– Caden Burston (2023 Ei artist-fellow, violinist, performer, researcher)
“The second you step foot here, it feels like you can just be. And that is just a tremendous gift.”
–Abby Swidler (2023 Ei artist-fellow, multi-instrumentalist, composer)
“The Ei really allowed us to show up as like our whole selves, and to relate to each other from a space of love, curiosity, and mutual support. It was such a gift to be able to experience that.”
– Ceci Pineda (2023 Ei artist-fellow, musician, ecosystem caretaker, community educator and facilitator)
“The Ei shifted the way that I'm seeing myself and my future in really transformative ways. “
– Anju Madhok (2023 Ei artist-fellow, songwriter, community builder, teacher)
2022
“At the Institute we engaged with meditation, improvisation, and in discussions about decolonizing and reimagining various aspects of musical training. There was just this openness to creative ideas, and the courage to be vulnerable about certain experiences that we’ve all had, which I found to be extremely powerful and inspiring….
“…The holistic aspect of this program is something that was very moving to me. I don’t think I’ve ever had any kind of experience like this, where we really focused on mental health, in addition to various areas that I found very fulfilling creatively and intellectually. The Ei was a unique and unforgettable experience.”
- Ché Buford (2022 Artist-Fellow Violinist, Composer)
“It’s so important to keep programs like this alive because change is needed. We are all people who just want to make this world better through our art and through our craft, and create a place where anybody can feel welcome, comfortable, and loved, and know that their ideas and opinions matter - that THEY matter. I didn’t want to leave! My life is changed.”
- Sarah Nichols (2022 Artist-Fellow, Cellist & Educator)
“The Experimental Institute is probably one of the most meaningful experiences that I’ve ever had in my life, and one that I keep going back to every day.”
- Philip Rawlinson, (2022 Artist-Fellow, Violist & Composer)
This program is made possible in part by grants from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, Mass Cultural Council, local community council grants, and donations from community members. We are incredibly grateful for our community of supporters, local farmers, artisans, and businesses.
To support the work and growth of the Experimental Institute, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here. To support us in other ways, please sign up to learn more about volunteer opportunities. Thank you!