The Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) is pleased to host French actor, director, and painter Sébastien Lange as a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. Lange’s residency at IAIA is for the 2021–2022 academic year, lasting through July 2022. As a theater professional, Lange brings expertise in not only performing arts, but also in the use of technology, as many of his productions incorporate projection technology and 3D immersive techniques. The knowledge Lange is sharing with the IAIA Performing Arts faculty and students will greatly enhance the program, advancing knowledge and options for performing arts production and utilizing the IAIA Digital Dome. Previously, the IAIA Digital Dome has been primarily used by IAIA’s Cinematic Arts and Technology Department. This expansion will not only make for more cross-discipline curricula at IAIA, but will also advance IAIA’s Performing Arts Department amongst other collegiate performing arts departments regionally and nationally, opening the door for more growth at IAIA. As Lange will be sharing his knowledge directly with faculty, the integration of digital technologies in the performing arts will expand far beyond his time here at IAIA.

Lange has worked with artists from an extensive range of cultures from around the world, including various Indigenous peoples—most recently the Rarámuri in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which is where he was when he found out about IAIA. “I’m an artist and a traveler,” Lange explains. “I’ve traveled to about 100 countries in my life, mostly by train, boat, and by walking. My aim from the beginning was to go into art schools and meet artists from all over the world.” Lange has been in contact with the IAIA community since 2014 and over the years has been a visiting talent in IAIA’s Performing Arts classes. He has also worked on a production with former IAIA faculty member Daniel Banks.

While at IAIA, Lange plans to share knowledge in many aspects that have been helpful to him as an artist—not just in his specialization, which is theater, but in a broader sense. “I want to teach the connection between things in art and culture and human knowledge,” he says. “My passion is that everything is linked. You cannot act well if you don’t know how to analyze where a writer or storyteller is speaking from—what point of knowledge, what point of being. And you have to be passionate for curiosity, for always hearing the world.”

Lange says that he is already learning so much from IAIA’s talented Indigenous artists and he plans to carry this knowledge with him wherever he may travel next, just as he brings his knowledge from previous travels to IAIA. “Humanity and art—these are my main purposes. My goal is to awaken curiosity. To awaken alterity and go away from prejudices. I think the best way to know, to heal, is to go deep into every culture.”

During his residency at IAIA, Lange will teach various workshops and participate in community collaborations, such as teaching a workshop at the Santa Fe Indian School. At the culmination of Lange’s residency, there will be a public performance in the IAIA Digital Dome. For all upcoming workshops and presentations, visit the IAIA Community Calendar.