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
June 12 to September 15, 2025. Open 10 am to 4 pm Thursday to Monday.
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario.
Admission by Donation
Lean back against a wall of vibro-tactile speakers to experience sound vibrations through your body. Haptic Voices is equally accessible to the Deaf, hard of hearing and able-bodied communities.
July 13, August 10 and September 14 at 2 pm
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
FREE
Weekend celebration with Performances, Workshops, SOUNDwalks and Talks
July 18 to 20, 2025
Warbler's Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario.
Book your Weekend Accommodation Pass ($225) or Event Pass ($65)
Enjoy a weekend sound escape in the North by joining a global community to celebrate World Listening Day - an annual summer event that highlights the importance of listening.
On Friday July 18 at 7 pm at Warbler’s Roost, Burk’s Falls vocalist Corinne Alice, In Wonderland will perform Echoes Between Us, an immersive and participatory experience combining Deep Listening, SOUNDwalking and a solo musical performance. On Saturday July 19 there will be an underwater sound recording workshop led by Eric Powell at 1 pm and a 7 pm concert of one of Annea Lockwood’s river sound map pieces. The weekend will conclude on Sunday July 20 at 1 pm at NAISA with an artist talk by Eric Powell introducing his new installation Voice of the Water.
World Listening Day Outdoor Concert and SOUNDwalk
July 18, 2025, 7:00 pm
rain or shine
Warbler's Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario.
$15 or Free with Weekend Accommodation Pass ($225) or Event Pass ($65)
Echoes Between Us is an immersive outdoor SOUNDwalk and solo performance by Corrine Alice, in Wonderland. She is an interdisciplinary artist based in the Almaguin Highlands.
World Listening Day Indoor Concert
July 19, 2025, 7:00 pm
Warbler's Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario.
$15 or Free with Weekend Accommodation Pass ($225) or Event Pass ($65)
Created in 2009 "A Sound Map of the Housatonic River" takes the listener on an imaginary voyage from the source of the Housatonic River in the Berkshire Mountains to the river’s mouth in Long Island Sound, Connecticut.
World Listening Day Outdoor Workshop
July 19, 2025, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Warbler's Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario.
$45 Free with Weekend Accommodation Pass ($225) or Event Pass ($65)
What does the world sound like underwater? Cast a hydrophone into the lake and find out.
World Listening Day Talk
By Eric Powell
July 20, 2025, 1:00 pm
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
Admission by Donation
Eric Powell will introduce the Voice of the Water installation at NAISA and talk about the evolution of his project which uses a rotary telephone to connect listeners to underwater recordings.
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 included in the Voice of the Water installation opening July 18.
Monday to Friday, 11 AM EDT
Tune in on our web player or using your streaming player
Listen online at wavefarm.org
Here is a selection of Making Waves episodes with content related to soundscapes, sound ecology and underwater sound. Making Waves is a monthly radio show produced by New Adventures in Sound Art for WGXC Wave Farm.
1. 20250510 – Remembering Andra McCartney with Hildegard Westerkamp, Wendalyn Bartley and Gayle Young
2. 20250111 – Omar Reyna's Sounds of Turbulence
3. 20240608 – Spring Soundscapes from the Almaguin Highlands
4. 20230708 – Importance of Environmental Sound with Alëna Korolëva, Mike Hoolboom and Heather Frise
5. 20210710 - World Listening Day with Eric Leonardson and Raquel Castro
6. 20200808 - Reciprocal Listening
7. 20180618 - Jana Winderen and the art of underwater recording
8. 20170513 - Soundscapes of Algonquin Park and Warbler's Roost
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.