New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) is a non-profit media arts organization that operates the fully accessible NAISA North Media Arts Centre and Café at 313 Highway 124 in South River, Ontario, Canada. Arts presentation with a focus on sound and listening are the basis of its year-round exhibitions, online broadcasts and performances.
New Adventures in Sound Art is located in the traditional territory of the Anishinabewaki peoples covered by the Williams Treaty (1923) and Robinson-Huron Treaty (1850). New Adventures in Sound Art recognizes the significant ongoing contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to aural culture in Canada.
Read MoreThe objectives of NAISA are to foster awareness and understanding locally, as well as nationally and internationally, in the cultural vitality of experimental sound art in its myriad forms of expression. This objective is achieved through the exploration of new sound technologies in conjunction with the creation of cultural events and artifacts.
NAISA’s annual events include the Deep Wireless festival of Radio & Transmission Art, the Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art, the SOUNDplay festival and Springscapes. These events each have their individual artistic focal points while collectively they provide a comprehensive 12 month overview of experimental sound-based media art in Canada and beyond.
NAISA is supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council and Canadian Heritage as well as contributions from its supporters. Click Here to make your contribution.
Current & Upcoming Events
By Joan Sullivan and Robin Servant
September 26, 2025 to January 5, 2026. Open 10 am to 4 pm Thursday to Monday
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario.
Admission by Donation
Ice Voices is an interactive sound-photo installation by Joan Sullivan and Robin Servant that invites visitors to listen to what the disappearing ice is trying to tell us and to use their sense of touch and vision to explore further. Underwater recordings of ice “voices” play in the artwork which can be both fascinating and destabilizing. They pull listeners into their evocative vortex, coaxing them to listen more intently to the non-human world.
Call NAISA or Email to make a 2 hour (maximum) appointment. All types of weather. Dress Appropriately.
FREE
Go on a listening expedition to record underwater sounds in South River and vicinity. Equipped with a recorder, hydrophones and other sensitive microphones you will explore the sounds of water in intimate listening proximity. The sounds you record will be added to the Voice of the Water installation.
Interactive Installation
By Eric Powell
Permanent Installation open Thursday to Monday, 10 am to 4 pm
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario.
Admission by Donation
Voice of the Water is an interactive rotary telephone-based listening station. Using sounds collected from inside the lakes and rivers around South River, Voice of the Water encourages listeners to connect with the local waterways as they explore the boundaries and overlaps between planes of existence. The Artist's goal is to create a venue for contemplation, catharsis, and a deeper engagement with the surrounding environment.
January 8 to March 30, 2026. Open 10 am to 4 pm Thursday to Monday
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario.
Admission by Donation
Material Transmissions by Vancouver sound artist Anju Singh is an interactive sound sculpture connects the sounds of hymn-based drones from temples with a sewing machine, and other industrial materials found in garment factories.
January 8, 2026, 7:00 pm
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
Admission by Donation
Join sound artist Anju Singh to celebrate the opening of her new sound sculpture Material Transmissions. In this talk Anju Singh will demonstrate her new sound sculpture, discuss her interest in noise-based textures and talk about how her life experiences informed the making of the artwork.
Enjoy Streams on the Art's Birthday Mesh.
FREE, Full 2026 Schedule Available Here
Check in to the Art's Birthday mesh network throughout the January 17th weekend for performances, videos, photo collages, web art and more happening from around the World. Art’s Birthday is an annual exchange art event celebrated internationally by the arts community. Happy 1,000,063rd Birthday, Art!
January 17, 2026 at 1 pm
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada
FREE
Come celebrate Art's Birthday with NAISA by participating in an indoor and outdoor sound art jam. Bring something that makes sound, or something you can use to strum or make percussive sounds on the Decomposing Piano. All experience levels welcome. The jam will be shared on the Art's Birthday Mesh Network, connecting with Art's Birthday celebrations happening around the world. And yes, there will be cake!
Art’s Birthday is an annual exchange art event celebrated internationally by the arts community. Happy 1,000,063rd Birthday, Art!
February 6 to 8, 2026
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario
$339 with 2 nights accommodation and $215 with no accommodation.
Click Here for Advance Registration.
A winter workshop at Warbler’s Roost in the Almaguin Highlands exploring storytelling through sound rather than words. The workshop will combine practical recording and audio production/creation experience with a curated listening session of Radio Art works, in order to consider the evocative potential of sounds to convey stories without words.
February 21, 2026, 7:00 pm
Café service available at 6 pm.
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada.
Online audiences register in advance for access.
Tickets $15
“Sandpaper hammock” uses custom-made gloves to draw out the sounds of electromagnetic frequencies from CRT monitors and other electric devices.
NAISA has a quiet co-working space with reliable internet that can be rented by the hour or the day. Useful for Zoom Meetings, Podcasting, Laptop work and Small private meetings. Click Here to Learn More.