| Project Information Local Albuquerque residents are invited to think of a particular place 1.] that they know well or 2.]where they have experienced intense emotion or a life-changing experience. Those who participate in the project will then attempt to recreate or express this place through collected sound(s). They will collaboratively use digital audio editing and web-streaming technology to make these sets of sounds into personal soundscapes, which taken together represent a diverse assortment of geographic locales in the greater Albuquerque area. All necessary equipment is provided for free to participants through public donation and grant funding from the University of New Mexico P.L.A.C.E. program. These soundscapes will eventually be transmitted in real-time or as multi-track sound pieces to PA systems at sites remote from the represented location. These sonic projections/ installations will occur in high profile, public areas, often outdoors, at times when a high volume of locals and/ or tourists are present. Soundscape contributors wil be present at the location where their sounds are heard, along with someone who resides at or around the projection site, and participants at each location will additionally have some seeds, small plants, or bulbs, to distribute in honor of the idea of local roots and the growth of new relationships. Finally a CD colection of the various soundscapes will be available both at the location of each projection and through the harvesting sound website. Proceeds, if any, will go towards the future continuation of local soundscapes projects. Background This project seeks to connect peoples' roots in the earth to sound, hearing, and being heard. Connection in this sense is a micro-component of community. Sound and technology are used to create a set of interactions amongst people who might not otherwise interact or relate to each other. By encouraging people to bring forth or "harvest" their most rooted expressions into a public space, new forms of community are produced through small-scale interpersonal awareness and participants from many backgrounds experience the sense of healing that comes from being heard. Finally the distinctions between social margins and centers are bridged in a unique way, as located sounds are grown and transplanted, and provide spiritual nourishment. The private/ internal is made external or hear-able in the process of transplanting various experiences and senses of self to alternative locations My desire to organize this project stems from my own Albuquerque roots, as well as my ongoing interest in exploring the interaction between community, healing, and sound. I hope that it provides participants with the experience of being a part of a mode of community building that blends traditional and non-traditional elements, and that demonstrates the accessibility and possibility of the experience of connection across demographics through public art practices. |
| Harvesting Sound Project Information & Background |