Sonic Soundings / Venice Trajectories

A project curated by Erika Tan, with contributions by 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

Sonic Soundings is conceived of as a form of intervention, or sonic counterpart to the 57th Venice Biennale. Initiated and curated by the artist Erika Tan, the metaphor of nautical or navigational charting where a sonic signal is released in anticipation of an echo is used to invite a series of responses from artists and curators to (re)map the Biennale through fluid encounters, borderless connections and archipelagic thinking. The project frames the National Pavilions and associated and unassociated projects as a constellation of islands, whose connections, both visible and under the radar, can be articulated as sonic soundings 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 reverberate, attempting interventions into art world spheres, gated routes, daily life, and the physicality and geography of Venice.

The artists and curators involved come from a range of locations in Europe and Asia and their projects reflect both this and their diverse approach and relationships to Venice, the biennale, the current crisis in Europe over borders and citizenship, but also to the medium of sound. The works produced take form as sonic soundscapes, audio walking guides, narrative encounters, acoustic interventions, or reminders of the ability of sound to both permeate as well as articulate space, interpretive processes and redefine meaning and representation.

The project is curated by Erika Tan, with design and technical support by Benjamin Chan & Malone Chen, and copy editing support by Sara Ng.
The project is supported by Central Saint Martins UAL, 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.

Sonic Soundings / Venice Trajectories is a geo-locational sound tour and is experienced in Venice via ECHOES a free app downloaded onto listeners’ smart-phones.

• http://www.sonicsoundings.com