Maisons Daura
The Daura Houses, a resource place for contemporary creation, privilege dialogue between practices, disciplines, identities and geographies. Since March 2005, they have been home to a centre for artistic research and innovation for all disciplines. Sheltered from the vicissitudes of city life, artists and researchers from different worlds develop new projects and elaborate forms that reflect the world in which we live.
In touch with the social and agricultural, historical and landscape reality, they experiment and agitate the context to show it differently, analyze the issues at stake and tell us a little bit about each other, in the variety of our languages and our belongings.
The Daura Houses are also a place of exchange with the inhabitants of the village and the valley. Every summer, the Contemporary Art Trail in the Lot Valley offers the presentation of works created during the spring residencies. It is part of the programme of the regional contemporary art network in connection with the Abattoirs, Frac Midi-Pyrénées. The achievements of the autumn residencies can open up partnerships with the cultural structures of the territory.
For the spring, the selection of artists is carried out by the Maison des arts, which is joined by an associate curator. The aim is to implement a collective project in visual arts, sound, architecture, etc. whose productions will be presented for the Contemporary Art Trail in the Lot Valley that follows the residency.
For the autumn, the residency is open to 4 young artists in partnership with the 4 art schools of the Occitanie region, to support the emergence of a regional art scene. It is up to the schools to nominate their alumni (N-5). At the same time, the Daura Houses receive 1 or 2 artists associated with international programs.
At street level, the large open room alternately serves as a workshop or public presentation room, as does the vaulted mezzanine room. Spaces for dialogue and didactic exploration, they serve as reception spaces for groups of children and adults during meetings with resident artists.
Level two includes:
– the multimedia workshop equipped with a computer and software for image and sound processing, engraver, scanner and printer.
– a large, bright workshop with work tables, chairs and sink.
Two separate buildings can accommodate up to six people at the same time. The artists have access to: accommodation equipped with furniture, crockery, bedding, etc. made available free of charge during the residency. All costs related to accommodation are covered.
The first level of the large house is for collective use. It includes a large living room, kitchen, dining room, library and gardens. These places are spaces for conviviality and possibly work. The large house has five independent bedrooms and two workshops. Artists whose expression induces noise pollution are welcomed as a priority in the small house where they have an independent home and studio.
The village of Saint-Cirq is situated in the Lot valley between Figeac and Cahors. There is a newsagent and tobacconist with bread deliveries (only in the summer period) on the village square. The nearest supermarket is 20 km away in Cajarc; there are shops with materials, tools and equipment and hypermarkets in Cahors and Figeac. Artist’s materials shop in Toulouse.