Sonic Soundings / Venice Trajectories

Contributors: Larry Achiampong / Song-Ming Ang / Barby Asante / Chi Bagtas / Yason Banal / Libita Clayton & Benjamin One / Lizza May David / Kimathi Donkor / bani haykal / Annie Jael Kwan & Lynn Lu / Anthony Lam / susan pui san lok / Adam Patterson / Geetanjali Sayal & Juhi Saklani & Anshul Kapoor / Sunil Shah / Michael Taiwo / Tintin Wulia / Abbas Zahedi  

A project curated by Erika Tan
 
Sonic Soundings / Venice Trajectories is a form of intervention, a sonic counterpart to the 57th Venice Biennale. The practice in nautical or navigational charting where a sonic signal is released in anticipation of an echo is used as a metaphor to (re)map the Biennale through fluid encounters, borderless connections and archipelagic thinking.
 
The project, mediated through an app, frames the National Pavilions and other projects as a constellation of islands, whose connections, both visible and under the radar, are articulated as sound reverberating in the alleyways, canals, campi, palazzi and pavilions. Whether diasporic, anti-state, trans-national, interpersonal, or inter-galactic these sonic objects seeded across Venice, echo and resonate, intervening into art world spheres, gated routes, daily life, and the geography of the city.
 
Contributors come from across Europe and Asia and reflect a diverse approach to Venice, the Biennale, the current global crisis over borders and citizenship, but also to the medium of sound. Soundscapes, audio walking guides, narrative encounters and acoustic interventions, all reminders of the ability of sound to both permeate and articulate space, and redefine meaning and representation.
 
The project is curated by Erika Tan, with design and technical support by Benjamin Chan & Malone Chen. Sonic Soundings / Venice Trajectories is a geo-locational sound tour and is experienced in Venice via ECHOES a free app downloaded onto listeners’ smartphones. To find out more and to download the app please visit the website: www.sonicsoundings.com.

Supported by Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London and Creative Unions. Creative Unions is an initiative of Central Saint Martins and the other Colleges of University of the Arts London bringing together events, actions, and voices to demonstrate that creativity must operate across borders—geographical, social and disciplinary.
 
Further information
For further press information please contact j.ortmans [​at​] csm.arts.ac.uk
For project information please contact e.tan [​at​] csm.arts.ac.uk
 
Application info
The ECHOES geo-location sound app is free to download for Android and iPhone. Once the app is downloaded, you can search for the project on the app (search for “sonicsoundings”). Here you will find a map, information on the project, some app FAQS and the works.
 
For an optimum experience
Download the project when wifi is available. Keep your location on, and app on. As you walk around Venice, the sound works will automatically trigger. Some works are conceived as single sound works to be experienced statically in a location, others as accompaniment to your journey, or as soundscapes. Information on the works is available on the app alongside any further instructions.
 
Use headphones—for most works the sound is best experienced on headphones.

Duration
The works can all be experienced within one day, and are placed along major Biennale routes. (If you are not going to Venice, the work can still be experienced remotely on the APP, but not in its fullest form).

MAP link
There is a map in the app which can help you find the works, however, if you would like to create a route, or find other ways to navigate the works, you can find a map of the distribution on Google Maps which will also allow you to create a navigational route between the works and various Biennale and Venice locations.