How to build a global network
Methods:
During the Pro Helvetia residence of the project team, which was organized by the Indian Sonic Research Organisation in January 2023, Dr. Yati Durant and André Bellmont developed concepts and methods on Divar Island (Old Goa) to establish the “International Media Music & Sound Arts Network in Education” (IMMSANE) in India:
1. Organization of an international congress in India in 2024
2. Connection of HE institutions with industry
3. Construction of the “Distant Creative Collaboration” platform
It soon became clear that it is not an easy feat to organize an IMMSANE congress in Bangalore in 2024 This is due to the scarcity of Media Music courses in India. Astonishingly, it is also not possible to offer such courses in Mumbai either – a metropolis with 30 million inhabitants which has an extremely productive, lively film and media industry.
Objectives:
1. Relaunch the IMMSANE website with the “Distant Creative Collaboration” platform (currently being programmed and designed by students of the “Srishti Institute”)
2. Implementation of the “Media Music Seeding Scheme for Future IMMSANE Regional Groups” concept (will take place in India and Africa)
Conclusion:
Courses in “Media Music” should be promoted in India. There is sufficient interest, as the “Film Music Master class” in Bangalore has shown, for example. The size and cultural diversity of the location will necessitate a longer set-up time or a “Media Music Seeding Scheme” in order to set up a sustainable network. The stay in India helped the project team to reorient themselves.
Cinema, museum and concert visits as well as participation in the “Experimenta” film festival left impressions, highlighted the country’s diverse culture and colonial past, and informed the team about the latest nationalistic forms. The meetings with artists from a wide variety of fields, with Swissnex Bangalore, the consulate general in Mumbai, the director of the Royal Opera House in the Mumbai Cricket Club as well as students and lecturers at the “Srishti Institute” and the “Bangalore School of Music” were particularly rewarding.