NAISA presents workshops that help people new to sound art acquire training and skills and learn from artists that NAISA is presenting. Workshops are accessible to people of all ages and abilities and they can take place online or in-person. Contact us if your organization or group are interested in hosting one in the future. Upcoming workshops are listed below.
Art's Birthday Sound Art Jam
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!
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!
Stories Through Sound - Winter Workshop Intensive
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.
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.
Advance Registration Required
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.
Participants will record winter soundscapes on a 14 acre rural property in Northern Ontario, including using hydrophones to explore the latent sounds of a frozen lake. Through guided field recording, group listening, and discussion, we’ll explore sound as story: non-linear, place-based, and more-than-human narratives shaped by winter environments.
All levels of Experience are welcome. Participants should bring a laptop and headphones and winter clothing suitable to keep your whole body dry and warm in sub-zero temperatures. Hydrophones will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their own personal recording equipment. Recorders can be provided upon request.
Warbler’s Roost is located in the unorganized rural Township of Lount which is 22 KM west of the village of South River, Ontario, Canada and is in the same biosphere as Algonquin Park and equidistant between the cities of North Bay and Huntsville.
There are comfortable indoor accommodations at Warbler's Roost with kitchens and bathrooms that are shared among the guests. Breakfast is provided each day.
Limited Spots Available. Accommodation discounts available for those wanting to share a room with a friend or partner.
Schedule:
Friday Feb 6
3:00 to 4:00 pm - Arrival and unpacking
4:00 to 5:00 pm - Winter SOUNDwalk
7:00 to 8:00 pm - Listening Session #1 - Stories told through sounds
8:00 to 10:00 pm - Night Recording
Saturday Feb 7
8:00 to 9:00 - Breakfast provided
9:00 to 12:00 - Morning Recording
13:00 to 14:00 - Sound Editing Tutorial - Reaper Basic introduction
14:00 to 15:00 - Sound Editing Tutorial - Editing Hydrophone Recordings
15:00 to 17:00 - Individual work on Editing (individual assistance is available)
17:00 to 18:00 - Listening Session #2 - Recordings made by Participants
18:00 to ? - Personal Creation Time
Sunday Feb 8
9:00 to 10:00 - Breakfast provided
11:00 to 12:00 pm - Listening Session #3 - Short Compositions by participants
12:00 to 2:00 pm - Lunch and Departure
2:00 to 4:00 - Material Transmissions installation visit to NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
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.
Participants will record winter soundscapes on a 14 acre rural property in Northern Ontario, including using hydrophones to explore the latent sounds of a frozen lake. Through guided field recording, group listening, and discussion, we’ll explore sound as story: non-linear, place-based, and more-than-human narratives shaped by winter environments.
All levels of Experience are welcome. Participants should bring a laptop and headphones and winter clothing suitable to keep your whole body dry and warm in sub-zero temperatures. Hydrophones will be provided. Participants are encouraged to bring their own personal recording equipment. Recorders can be provided upon request.
Warbler’s Roost is located in the unorganized rural Township of Lount which is 22 KM west of the village of South River, Ontario, Canada and is in the same biosphere as Algonquin Park and equidistant between the cities of North Bay and Huntsville.
There are comfortable indoor accommodations at Warbler's Roost with kitchens and bathrooms that are shared among the guests. Breakfast is provided each day.
Limited Spots Available. Accommodation discounts available for those wanting to share a room with a friend or partner.
Schedule:
Friday Feb 6
3:00 to 4:00 pm - Arrival and unpacking
4:00 to 5:00 pm - Winter SOUNDwalk
7:00 to 8:00 pm - Listening Session #1 - Stories told through sounds
8:00 to 10:00 pm - Night Recording
Saturday Feb 7
8:00 to 9:00 - Breakfast provided
9:00 to 12:00 - Morning Recording
13:00 to 14:00 - Sound Editing Tutorial - Reaper Basic introduction
14:00 to 15:00 - Sound Editing Tutorial - Editing Hydrophone Recordings
15:00 to 17:00 - Individual work on Editing (individual assistance is available)
17:00 to 18:00 - Listening Session #2 - Recordings made by Participants
18:00 to ? - Personal Creation Time
Sunday Feb 8
9:00 to 10:00 - Breakfast provided
11:00 to 12:00 pm - Listening Session #3 - Short Compositions by participants
12:00 to 2:00 pm - Lunch and Departure
2:00 to 4:00 - Material Transmissions installation visit to NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
Spring Soundscape Workshop Intensive
May 1 to 3, 2026
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario
$339 with 2 nights accommodation and $215 with no accommodation.
May 1 to 3, 2026
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario
$339 with 2 nights accommodation and $215 with no accommodation.
Advance Registration Required
Produced by New Adventures in Sound Art, this immersive recording and composing workshop invites participants to explore the rich soundscape of Warbler’s Roost through attentive listening, field recording, and creative composition.
The workshop takes place at Warbler’s Roost, which is located on a rural 14-acre property 22 km west of the village of South River, Ontario. Activities encompass soundwalking, recording and editing of field recordings, and finally, composing a short soundscape composition responding to the theme of “Sound Culture.”
The notion of a Sound Culture is certainly not unique to humans, and this fact is most evident to human ears in the spring where adaptations in learning, imitation and social interaction play out in the acoustic biophony. By considering animal vocalizations as meaningful sound expression rather than background noise, the workshop suggests a way of listening and composing — highlighting relationships between species, landscape, and technology.
The workshop is open to all experience levels and emphasizes curiosity, experimentation, and attentive listening.
It will be led by NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland who has created radio, concert and installation pieces from soundscape recordings made at the same location as the workshop.
Workshop participants should bring a laptop and recording equipment that is familiar to them. However, participants can also access NAISA equipment and resources such as 2nd order Ambisonic recording, Geophone and Hydrophone recording as well as editing and mixing with the Reaper digital audio workstation.
Participants will also be introduced to the Reveil livestream taking place in parallel to this workshop which broadcasts the sounds of daybreak traveling westward from London (UK) time zone by time zone. NAISA Radio is a broadcast partner and will be broadcasting the 24+ hour livestream.
Important Details:
Photo Credit: Allister Johnston
Produced by New Adventures in Sound Art, this immersive recording and composing workshop invites participants to explore the rich soundscape of Warbler’s Roost through attentive listening, field recording, and creative composition.
The workshop takes place at Warbler’s Roost, which is located on a rural 14-acre property 22 km west of the village of South River, Ontario. Activities encompass soundwalking, recording and editing of field recordings, and finally, composing a short soundscape composition responding to the theme of “Sound Culture.”
The notion of a Sound Culture is certainly not unique to humans, and this fact is most evident to human ears in the spring where adaptations in learning, imitation and social interaction play out in the acoustic biophony. By considering animal vocalizations as meaningful sound expression rather than background noise, the workshop suggests a way of listening and composing — highlighting relationships between species, landscape, and technology.
The workshop is open to all experience levels and emphasizes curiosity, experimentation, and attentive listening.
It will be led by NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland who has created radio, concert and installation pieces from soundscape recordings made at the same location as the workshop.
Workshop participants should bring a laptop and recording equipment that is familiar to them. However, participants can also access NAISA equipment and resources such as 2nd order Ambisonic recording, Geophone and Hydrophone recording as well as editing and mixing with the Reaper digital audio workstation.
Participants will also be introduced to the Reveil livestream taking place in parallel to this workshop which broadcasts the sounds of daybreak traveling westward from London (UK) time zone by time zone. NAISA Radio is a broadcast partner and will be broadcasting the 24+ hour livestream.
Important Details:
- All levels of experience are welcome.
- Bring your own laptop and a portable audio recorder.
- NAISA will supplement with additional equipment where necessary.
- Dress for colder temperatures at dusk and dawn as well as for some walking on muddy and wet surfaces.
- Warbler’s Roost has comfortable indoor accommodation with kitchens and bathrooms that are shared among the guests. Breakfast is provided each day.
- Accommodation discounts available for those wanting to share a room with a friend or partner.
Photo Credit: Allister Johnston