GMEM is partnering with the Phonurgia Nova Awards for its 30th edition!
International Competition for Radio and Sound Creation

Sound recording elevated to the status of fine art...

5 days of listening (3 days in Penvénan + 2 days in Marseille), 27 hours of creative work, 51 sound pieces that redefine the art of radio.

The Phonurgia Nova Awards serve as a barometer of emerging creativity in the field of sound. Boldness, exploration, sound art, and narrative innovation: from radio to podcasts, all forms of 21st-century sound are represented! With the support of numerous European partners, the awards identify and honor creators who explore both the real and the imaginary worlds of sound.

Following a call for submissions that closed on June 15, the pre-selection committee selected 51 creators around whom the 2026 edition—structured in two parts—is being built, with a strong focus on new talent. Performed under exceptional listening conditions, the works will be compared, discussed, and contextualized by the talent of those advocating for them: composers, producers, programmers, essayists, and critics. The jury will deliberate in public and in the presence of the artists during a two-day listening marathon, after which it will award the prizes and creative residencies.




Since 1986, it has been an event eagerly anticipated by a vast community of authors, where all forms of writing converge and sound breaks free from the constraints of media and genres to reinvent the listening experience. For the public, it offers the promise of experiencing the best of this creative work, as well as the (rare) privilege of witnessing firsthand the jury’s deliberations as they gradually compile a list of winners through passionate and fascinating discussions. A jury in search of an eighth art form that fits the definition once proposed by Pierre Schaeffer: “attention to the words of others, openness to the signals of the world, meditation on time, the ability to be silent, and sensitivity to the prose and poetry that microphones spontaneously capture.”
Marc Jacquin

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The nominees, with51 sound and radio works, are in the running for 5 awards:
for the “Field Recording” Award: MathieuChiaverini, Virginie Thurre, Lasse-Marc Riek, Léa Roger & Cristina Canedo, David Lagarde & Katharina Grüneisl, Dorota Blaszczak, Pablo Diserens.
for the “Archives de la parole” Award: Bastien Lambert, Antoine Richard, Julien Baroghel, Sylvie Gasteau, Chloé Sanchez, Lucie Mesuret, Benoît Bories & Aurélien Caillaux, Yves Robic, Jean-Baptiste Imbert, Delphine Wil, Daniela Lorini, Marc-Antoine Granier, Yasmina Hamlawi, Sophie Dusigne, Rosalie Kauffmann, Aliénor Carrière, Anaïs Carton.
for the “Découvertes Pierre Schaeffer” Prize: Enora Giboire, Mathias Guilbaud, Laure Merlo-Kabous and Emma Pajevic-Couteau, Ismaël Camara-Silvestre, Bai Boyi, Léo Ligavant, Ada Dinçer, Marie Bobichon, Palani Sujeth
for the “Sound Art” Prize: Stefano Giannotti, Yannick Lemesle, Rocio Calvo & Paul Husky, Carina Pesch, Mark Vernon, Anne-Line Drocourt & Pierre Offresson, Miri Berlin, Cristian Fierbinteanu & Bodgan Stamatin, Ciprian Chirileanu.
for the “Sound Fiction” Award: Sebastian Dicenaire, Théo Jacob, Chloé Hiobi, Ludo Mepa and Nadège Cazals, Daniel Martin-Borret, Anna Friz, Volodia Serre, Alice Kudlak, Anne Lepère, Stefano Giannotti.

The Jury
Putting into words the act of listening and what it triggers is no easy task, for unlike the visual arts or music, the field of sound and radio creation cannot claim such a firmly established critical tradition: its analytical tools have yet to be forged. By taking the risk of speaking openly in the presence of the creators, each member of the jury—beyond simply expressing their preferences for a particular work or approach—contributes to this essential theoretical groundwork.


Call for Applications
The call forapplications, which closed on June 15, received 387 creative works and projects from 30 countries, including51 applications for creative residencies at the Avatar Centre studio,Logelloù(Center for Musical Creation in Penvénan), INA grm, Phonurgia Nova, and GMEM—National Center for Musical Creation in Marseille.


Mentions
Location
Phonurgia Nova Awards 2026
30th edition
Listening sessions
Fri., Nov. 13 + Sat., Nov. 14, 2026 GMEM (Friche la Belle de Mai)

Detailed schedule: coming soon



PUBLICLISTENING SESSIONS

Listening sessions for nominees and jury deliberations
Broadcast of all works from the 2026 selection

Fri., November 13
Location: GMEM (Module)
9:15 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.
Pierre Schaeffer Discovery Award 
2:30 p.m. — 6:00 p.m. 
Sound Fiction Award 
8:30 PM — 10:00 PM 
Tribute to Yann Paranthoën 

Sat., November 14
Location: GMEM (Module)
9:15 a.m. — 12:45 p.m.
Sound Art Prize
2:30 p.m.
Announcement of the winners

BY RESERVATION
subject to availability
> billetterie@gmem.org



PREVIEW
Thu., Sept. 24–26,
Location: Ile Grande, Trébeurden, Penvénan (22, Brittany)
Learn more

Distribution

Radio Grenouille, GMEM and Euphonia
Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles Paris, SACEM, GRM (INA), Phonurgia Nova / Musée Réattu
organizers

Anne Astolfe, Adèle de Baudoin, Judith Bordas, Annabelle Brouard, Alessandro Bosetti, Daniel Deshays, Anne Gillot, Jean-Loup Graton, Séverine Janssen, Marie-Madeleine Mervant-Roux, Léa Minod, Philippe Ollivier, Christian Sebille, Juliette Volcler
, 2026 Jury


Useful links
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