Kumamoto x Aix-en-Provence x Villa Kujoyama: Krikor Kouchian at the Vasarely Foundation

This autumn at the Vasarely Foundation, come and discover the sonic and visual universe of Krikor Kouchian, composer and electronic musician, on the occasion of the presentation of his residency in Kumamoto (Japan)!
This presentation will take several forms: a performance in collaboration with dancer Lina Schlageter, a workshop with students from the École Supérieure d’Art Félix Ciccolini, and an introductory electronic music and synthesizer workshop for children.

November 14 at 7 PM: Plastic Mountain — a sound and choreographic performance by Krikor Kouchian and Lina Schlageter (free admission upon registration [link])
November 15 at 4 PM: solo musical performance (free admission upon registration [link])
November 16 at 2 PM (ages 6–8) and 3:30 PM (ages 8–11): Introduction to Electronic Music and the Synthesizer workshop (10 children per session / 1 hour / free, registration required, subject to availability, via daci@mairie-aixenprovence.fr)

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Krikor Kouchian captured something in Kyushu: water that erodes, plastic that endures, the flickering light of pachinko parlors in the boredom of the afternoon. A paradoxical geology, turned into sound material. From these recordings emerges an open score, where gestures and sounds intertwine — neither in opposition nor illustration, but rather in mutual contamination, a shared vibration between movement and matter.

This presentation is part of the post-residency program created by the Cities of Aix-en-Provence and Kumamoto, in partnership with Villa Kujoyama.
A 2021 Villa Kujoyama resident, Krikor Kouchian continued his research in Kumamoto in the autumn of 2025 before being hosted by the Vasarely Foundation for this new stage.

His project, at the crossroads of listening, sharing, and transformation, offers a sensitive reinterpretation of the relationship between space, memory, and perception — resonating with the exchanges between two territories: Aix-en-Provence and Kumamoto.

Kumamoto and Aix-en-Provence maintain a very dynamic partnership. Although the official cooperation agreement between the two cities was only signed in 2013, their shared history goes back much further. Twenty years earlier, in 1992, the Kano family—a renowned dynasty in the ancestral art of Noh theatre—offered Aix-en-Provence city a Noh stage. This gift marked the beginning of numerous cultural and civic exchanges between both cities. Naturally, the two municipalities eventually formalized their close relationship through a partnership agreement.