At the end of June, the Czech artist Lucie Páchová joined the long-term residency project "Release" at the invitation of the Arad Contemporary Art Center and Czech Center Tel Aviv. Within it, the artists under the guidance of curators Ley Abir and Guy Dubious focused on working and experimenting with sound, taking into account the specific social, community, geographical or cultural context of Arad and the Negev desert.
Lucie Páchová was invited as one of the guest artists, and during her several-day stay, she realized a workshop for other participants focused on the topic of active listening as a source of creativity:"The initial question was how can we enter into a creative dialogue with the environment through sensitive listening. The listening activities, which took the form of listening walks with focused attention, were followed by recording activities. We looked for a different ways of creative recording in the field and then shared the recordings in a reflective discussion. The second day was mainly devoted to sound improvisation, when we connected both listening and recording, as well as our own sound interventions in the space. In the final part, we improvised in a four-channel sound system, where we used our recordings, voices and DIY or electronic instruments. An essential part of the workshop was joint discussions, which allowed us to think about things in a different, new way. There happened that various creative approaches and ways of perceiving sound and generally thinking about sound and the meaning of working with it was reflected."
Arad Contemporary Art Center is a contemporary art center operating in the southern Israeli city of Arad on the border of the Negev and Judean deserts. Its unique environment creates a specific context against which the center's artistic activities unfold."It was interesting to work in Arad right on the edge of the desert. The desert is a very significant circumstance of life there and the experience of silence in the desert was certainly fascinating. I am curious how the projects of the individual participants of the residency will develop and how they will work with sound in them. They seemed to have gained new inspirations from the workshop. The goal was somehow to bond them together through sound and improvisation activities. I think it was successful. I hope they continue to work together and I look forward to staying in touch. I had a great time creating with them," says Lucie Páchová.The environment of Arad is interesting not only for its geographical location, but also for the richness of local communities."If I were to return to Arad, I would particularly like to focus on the fact that the gallery there is part of a community center that serves as a space for dialogue between the various communities that use the place. And that community is not only Jewish, Sephardic, Bedouin or Arab, but also, for example, the pigeon community, which now occupies the building most dominantly. We can all listen somehow. For me, musical improvisation means openness to perceive everything that is part of the world around at a given moment. Acceptance, curiosity, courage to dialogue. But primarily it requires a feeling of security. If I still have the opportunity to create in Arad (so far I am invited to January 2026), I would like to support the possibilities of dialogue between local communities through the aforementioned approaches and workshops. Improvisation, listening and creative work with sounds can be suitable tools to create temporary gaps where we can understand each other," concludes Lucie Páchová.
