The SOVEREIGN Suite is PaviElle French’s most recent work, the follow-up to 2021’s SOVEREIGN. Commissioned by the Schubert Club and in collaboration with the Jerome Foundation and the Sands Family, the Suite took nine months to compose and produce in GarageBand.
In conjunction with the production and release of The SOVEREIGN Suite, PaviElle has completed a residency with the American Composers Forum (ACF). Working with young artists from the ACF’s partner organizations, PaviElle completed a series of workshops based on and inspired by The SOVEREIGN Suite. The Suite will also be used as part of an in-development curriculum.
The SOVEREIGN Curriculum
WHAT IS THE SOVEREIGN RESIDENCY?
The Sovereign Residency: A Means for Growth is a collaborative, flexible artist residency
led by Minneapolis-based interdisciplinary artist, singer, and composer PaviElle French.
The curriculum is designed to guide communities in the exploration of Black liberation,
freedom, healing, and sovereignty through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates
education, creation/artmaking, performance, and community work. The curriculum
defines sovereignty as the ability to to make your own decisions and move in the world
in your natural state, without having to acclimate, assimilate, or acquiesce to others’
world views and perspectives on “civility.” The curriculum is divided into three stages,
“Truth,” “Inner Work,” and “Liberation,” inviting communities to dive into these key
questions:
1. Who am I?
2. What do I envision for a safe and healthy future for me, for the people?
3. What needs to happen, or what will I need to create/see the future that I desire?
PaviElle sees building sovereignty as a way to break free from the cycles of trauma that
impact communities of Black Indigenous People Of Color in the United States, as well as
other marginalized groups. Rooted in the response to George Floyd’s police murder in
2020, the Sovereign Residency curriculum is about processing the aftermath of major
civil unrest and injustice and building back stronger. When we must focus only on
survival, trauma cycles are perpetuated. The curriculum (a) creates the time and space
communities crave to engage in deep healing and movement-building and (b) provides
proven art-making and empathy-building tools to successfully accomplish this difficult
yet joyful work.
PaviElle says: “Through this curriculum, we’re working to meaningfully engage in
the work of liberation through music and community-building–a true balance of
the two–all while considering the needs of the community and the individual.
We’re saying, ‘It’s time to wake up, to catalyze being active in life!’ We want to open
up a community to conversation, to find a way forward.
Our goal is a deepening of people’s connection to their artistry, personhood, and
values so they can then align those values into the rest of their lives and work. We
will create an equitable learning experience by providing space with empathy and
compassion for people to have real, often difficult conversations that can lead to
epiphanies and self discovery. And we want teachers and leaders feeling
supported and validated in the eyes of their community so they can effectively
continue the work post-residency.”
