New Adventures in Sound Art’s (NAISA) is proud to present the 25th edition of SOUNDplay – an annual fall series that encourages new avenues of exploration between sound and new media.
This year’s edition wraps up NAISA’s year long programming on the theme of ‘Sound Culture’ with works that dig back into personal histories to find ties to both ancestry, the natural world and life-changing events. Julia White’s new sound installation is a personal sonic journey around the wheel of the year inviting one to listen deeply to sounds tied to personal memories and family ancestry, while Sundridge multi-disciplinary storyteller Mary McDonald shares two poetry films that honours personal family stories of her collaborators that were coloured by war. SOUNDplay concludes with an audio broadcast of ‘Fire’ which is Part 7 in the series You And I Are Water Earth Fire Air Of Life And Death curated by Christof Migone along with Milo Thesiger-Meacham.
‘By the Light of the Wild Within’
By Julia White
September 17 to November 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
’By the Light of the Wild Within’ is a new sound and sculpture installation by Julia White.
"Since moving to the country near where my ancestors once lived, I have been going into the woods here, to sit in stillness by the creek and just be. A sanctuary of sorts, this once old-growth cedar forest is a place of calm and great creative insight for me and my work is infused with its magical essence. ’By the Light of the Wild Within’ features an audio element to help convey this; a long-playing loop of field recordings made here on the land, emanates from the space, taking us on a sonic journey around the wheel of the year. The installation is immersive and is in itself, an invitation to listen deeply- with both our ears and our hearts. Mystery sounds from other places and ‘wild cards’ are also woven in, offering an element of surprise. Some of the recordings are raw, minimally edited and true to a place and moment, while others are composed and are more dreamscape soundscapes, where organically layered compositions blend gathered non-verbal voices and boundaries are dissolved. In this way, communicating without words, the living mind of nature beckons us to tune to the more-than-human-soundfield and enter its wild mystery." - Julia White
By Julia White
September 17 to November 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
’By the Light of the Wild Within’ is a new sound and sculpture installation by Julia White.
"Since moving to the country near where my ancestors once lived, I have been going into the woods here, to sit in stillness by the creek and just be. A sanctuary of sorts, this once old-growth cedar forest is a place of calm and great creative insight for me and my work is infused with its magical essence. ’By the Light of the Wild Within’ features an audio element to help convey this; a long-playing loop of field recordings made here on the land, emanates from the space, taking us on a sonic journey around the wheel of the year. The installation is immersive and is in itself, an invitation to listen deeply- with both our ears and our hearts. Mystery sounds from other places and ‘wild cards’ are also woven in, offering an element of surprise. Some of the recordings are raw, minimally edited and true to a place and moment, while others are composed and are more dreamscape soundscapes, where organically layered compositions blend gathered non-verbal voices and boundaries are dissolved. In this way, communicating without words, the living mind of nature beckons us to tune to the more-than-human-soundfield and enter its wild mystery." - Julia White
Julia White is an artist that creates dreamlike sculptural landscapes with her enigmatic
abstract forms. She combines the raw beauty of nature with elements of light, sound and architecture, offering a potent point of connection to the wild currents within ourselves and our world.
Originally from Toronto, White received a BFA from Queen’s University, Kingston and a certificate from the Deep Listening Institute, NY, then followed her roots to a round house in the country near Walter’s Falls, ON, where she now lives on land with a creek and a forest of trees.
A Context for Listening
In-Person and Online Artist Talk
By Julia White
September 17, 2026, 7:00 pm
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada.
Online audiences register in advance for access.
Admission by Donation
Join artist Julia White in a discussion on how listening with the heart informs the experience of her new installation at NAISA entitled ’By the Light of the Wild Within’
In-Person and Online Artist Talk
By Julia White
September 17, 2026, 7:00 pm
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada.
Online audiences register in advance for access.
Admission by Donation
Join artist Julia White in a discussion on how listening with the heart informs the experience of her new installation at NAISA entitled ’By the Light of the Wild Within’
Julia White is an artist that creates dreamlike sculptural landscapes with her enigmatic
abstract forms. She combines the raw beauty of nature with elements of light, sound and architecture, offering a potent point of connection to the wild currents within ourselves and our world.
Originally from Toronto, White received a BFA from Queen’s University, Kingston and a certificate from the Deep Listening Institute, NY, then followed her roots to a round house in the country near Walter’s Falls, ON, where she now lives on land with a creek and a forest of trees.
48 Hour Sound Art Challenge
October 16 to 18, 4 pm to 4 pm
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario
$339 with 2 nights accommodation and $215 with no accommodation.
October 16 to 18, 4 pm to 4 pm
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River, Ontario
$339 with 2 nights accommodation and $215 with no accommodation.
Advance Registration Required
This weekend intensive invites artists to create a sound art miniature in a 48-hour period on the theme "Sound Culture."
The 48-hour Sound Art Challenge will take place at Warbler’s Roost, a 14-acre rural, forested and lake-side property in the Almaguin Highlands. NAISA will provide assistance with access to its supply of equipment. Participating artists should bring their own portable recording devices and computers and other tools necessary for their creation.
Peer learning and sharing will be encouraged throughout the process and NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland will facilitate and assist participants.
The schedule of the weekend is open-ended in order to accommodate individual work and learning needs. There will be three group meetings beginning with an Orientation and SOUNDwalk from 5:30 to 7:00 pm on Friday October 16, a Check-In and Sound Sharing from 4 to 6 pm on Saturday October 17, and the weekend will conclude with a Listening and Feedback session from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday October 18. The remainder of the time is for individual work and for arranging any one-on-one instruction and consultation.
Photo by Anton Pickard
This weekend intensive invites artists to create a sound art miniature in a 48-hour period on the theme "Sound Culture."
The 48-hour Sound Art Challenge will take place at Warbler’s Roost, a 14-acre rural, forested and lake-side property in the Almaguin Highlands. NAISA will provide assistance with access to its supply of equipment. Participating artists should bring their own portable recording devices and computers and other tools necessary for their creation.
Peer learning and sharing will be encouraged throughout the process and NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland will facilitate and assist participants.
The schedule of the weekend is open-ended in order to accommodate individual work and learning needs. There will be three group meetings beginning with an Orientation and SOUNDwalk from 5:30 to 7:00 pm on Friday October 16, a Check-In and Sound Sharing from 4 to 6 pm on Saturday October 17, and the weekend will conclude with a Listening and Feedback session from 2 to 4 pm on Sunday October 18. The remainder of the time is for individual work and for arranging any one-on-one instruction and consultation.
Photo by Anton Pickard
Voice of the Water by Eric Powell
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.
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.
Poetry Film Installation
December 3 to 28, 2026. Open 10 am to 4 pm Thursday to Monday
NAISA North Media Arts Centre & Café, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
Admission by Donation
December 3 to 28, 2026. Open 10 am to 4 pm Thursday to Monday
NAISA North Media Arts Centre & Café, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
Admission by Donation
Two Poetry Films created in collaboration with Sundridge multi-disciplinary storyteller Mary McDonald reveal the personal stories embedded in significant events of history.
Program:
I. 3550N, 2820E Cerulean Island by Mary McDonald & Sarah Tremlett
JOHN – 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is a poetry film about loss, displacement, commemoration and the futility of war.
The poetry film features an original soundtrack and visual design created by Sundridge multi-disciplinary Mary McDonald in response to the text of the poem. Poet and Filmmaker Sarah Tremlett says that the poem JOHN 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is about the futility of war, and each stanza could be described as a different scene on a trajectory where time is running out. Here, dual forces are in play: light and darkness, security and destabilization – and these are echoed in the poetic devices employed and the fact that the protagonist was half German. Water and holding one’s breath have particularly charged meanings, both of innocence and also loss of life.’
Mary McDonald responded to the poem with both a sound and visual design centred on an exploration of the precision of war, with its insistence on record keeping, of precise time and location, of kill marks and recording the number of deaths, of straight lines and cross-hairs. This controlled precision is contrasted with the vague outlines of memory, of time and space separating father and son. The presence of water central to the documented events throughout the poem, present in sound and film allegorically represents this flow of memory, one that is beyond the control of humans, time and precision. The work explores the power of water and how water can submerse and immerse, but can also buoy one up. Water can resurrect, it can wash away all.
JOHN – 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is a poetry film about loss, displacement, commemoration and the futility of war.
The poetry film features an original soundtrack and visual design created by Sundridge multi-disciplinary Mary McDonald in response to the text of the poem. Poet and Filmmaker Sarah Tremlett says that the poem JOHN 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is about the futility of war, and each stanza could be described as a different scene on a trajectory where time is running out. Here, dual forces are in play: light and darkness, security and destabilization – and these are echoed in the poetic devices employed and the fact that the protagonist was half German. Water and holding one’s breath have particularly charged meanings, both of innocence and also loss of life.’
Mary McDonald responded to the poem with both a sound and visual design centred on an exploration of the precision of war, with its insistence on record keeping, of precise time and location, of kill marks and recording the number of deaths, of straight lines and cross-hairs. This controlled precision is contrasted with the vague outlines of memory, of time and space separating father and son. The presence of water central to the documented events throughout the poem, present in sound and film allegorically represents this flow of memory, one that is beyond the control of humans, time and precision. The work explores the power of water and how water can submerse and immerse, but can also buoy one up. Water can resurrect, it can wash away all.
II. On the Margin of History by Mary McDonald with Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar
On the Margin of History is a Poetry film and an Augmented Reality installation created by Mary McDonald in collaboration with Poets Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar. Boskic and Kebbewar were excited to tell their story through this collaboration since their countries, Serbia and Syria, experienced similar fates. When weaving their verses together, their lines overlapped, their words chased each other. Their voices echoed with the same emptiness, recognizing a human soul can be peeled, layer by layer, revealed through art.
Fragmented layers of sound and image within the poetry film reproduce a sense of displacement and erasure, exposing the reverberating loss of destruction of people and place, family, heritage, traditions, cultures. In the AR version the still images become short video clips. These fragments all explore the surreal experience of displacement.
On the Margin of History is witness to destruction of ancient history and sharp demographic change in Aleppo, city of six million people that lost ninety percent of its residents over six years, then filled with new people. It is witness also to the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia, culminating in the NATO bombing of Serbia where silence was the only response to events that left people shocked, disbelieving. On the Margin of History is a trans-disciplinary project considering tensions between personal voice and possibilities within sound and visual to suggest and reinforce false narratives and/or create understandings through metaphor, playing with all levels of perception. Text is digitally exploded, creating reverberating echoes of lost words, lost truths.
On the Margin of History is a Poetry film and an Augmented Reality installation created by Mary McDonald in collaboration with Poets Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar. Boskic and Kebbewar were excited to tell their story through this collaboration since their countries, Serbia and Syria, experienced similar fates. When weaving their verses together, their lines overlapped, their words chased each other. Their voices echoed with the same emptiness, recognizing a human soul can be peeled, layer by layer, revealed through art.
Fragmented layers of sound and image within the poetry film reproduce a sense of displacement and erasure, exposing the reverberating loss of destruction of people and place, family, heritage, traditions, cultures. In the AR version the still images become short video clips. These fragments all explore the surreal experience of displacement.
On the Margin of History is witness to destruction of ancient history and sharp demographic change in Aleppo, city of six million people that lost ninety percent of its residents over six years, then filled with new people. It is witness also to the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia, culminating in the NATO bombing of Serbia where silence was the only response to events that left people shocked, disbelieving. On the Margin of History is a trans-disciplinary project considering tensions between personal voice and possibilities within sound and visual to suggest and reinforce false narratives and/or create understandings through metaphor, playing with all levels of perception. Text is digitally exploded, creating reverberating echoes of lost words, lost truths.
Poetry Film Screening
In-Person and Online presentation
December 5, 2026, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Doors open at 6pm for Vegan and Gluten-Free Meals prior to the performance
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada.
Online audiences register in advance for access.
Tickets $15
A program of Poetry Films and a Cinematic Tone Poem reveal the personal stories embedded in significant events of history and in iconic cultural symbols. This hybrid online and in-person presentation will feature introductions by the artists and a Q&A discussion afterwards. Those attending in-person can also enjoy the vegan and gluten-free café offerings at NAISA.
In-Person and Online presentation
December 5, 2026, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Doors open at 6pm for Vegan and Gluten-Free Meals prior to the performance
In-Person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario, Canada.
Online audiences register in advance for access.
Tickets $15
A program of Poetry Films and a Cinematic Tone Poem reveal the personal stories embedded in significant events of history and in iconic cultural symbols. This hybrid online and in-person presentation will feature introductions by the artists and a Q&A discussion afterwards. Those attending in-person can also enjoy the vegan and gluten-free café offerings at NAISA.
Program:
I. JOHN – 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) by Mary McDonald & Sarah Tremlett
This work is a poetry film about loss, displacement, commemoration and the futility of war.
The poetry film features an original soundtrack and visual design created by Sundridge multi-disciplinary Mary McDonald in response to the text of the poem. Poet and Filmmaker Sarah Tremlett says that the poem JOHN 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is about the futility of war, and each stanza could be described as a different scene on a trajectory where time is running out. Here, dual forces are in play: light and darkness, security and destabilization – and these are echoed in the poetic devices employed and the fact that the protagonist was half German. Water and holding one’s breath have particularly charged meanings, both of innocence and also loss of life.’
Mary McDonald responded to the poem with both a sound and visual design centred on an exploration of the precision of war, with its insistence on record keeping, of precise time and location, of kill marks and recording the number of deaths, of straight lines and cross-hairs. This controlled precision is contrasted with the vague outlines of memory, of time and space separating father and son. The presence of water central to the documented events throughout the poem, present in sound and film allegorically represents this flow of memory, one that is beyond the control of humans, time and precision. The work explores the power of water and how water can submerse and immerse, but can also buoy one up. Water can resurrect, it can wash away all.
This work is a poetry film about loss, displacement, commemoration and the futility of war.
The poetry film features an original soundtrack and visual design created by Sundridge multi-disciplinary Mary McDonald in response to the text of the poem. Poet and Filmmaker Sarah Tremlett says that the poem JOHN 3550N, 2820E (Cerulean Island) is about the futility of war, and each stanza could be described as a different scene on a trajectory where time is running out. Here, dual forces are in play: light and darkness, security and destabilization – and these are echoed in the poetic devices employed and the fact that the protagonist was half German. Water and holding one’s breath have particularly charged meanings, both of innocence and also loss of life.’
Mary McDonald responded to the poem with both a sound and visual design centred on an exploration of the precision of war, with its insistence on record keeping, of precise time and location, of kill marks and recording the number of deaths, of straight lines and cross-hairs. This controlled precision is contrasted with the vague outlines of memory, of time and space separating father and son. The presence of water central to the documented events throughout the poem, present in sound and film allegorically represents this flow of memory, one that is beyond the control of humans, time and precision. The work explores the power of water and how water can submerse and immerse, but can also buoy one up. Water can resurrect, it can wash away all.
II. Firewash by Sarah Tremlett
A family history poetry film from "TREE," a project on the geopoetics of place.
"Firewash" as both a poem and poetry film is a conversation with an ancestor who mined at a site in Cornwall in the 12th century. The poem (published in Earth Lines anthology, Autumn 2021) by Edinburgh Geological Society is based on the author’s experience of staying at the same location during a gale. It is taken from "TREE" which is a geopoetic family history and poetry film project across different periods and locations.
"Firewash" premiered at REELpoetry festival, Houston and the ZEBRA poetry film festival in 2021 and in 2023 at the Fringe in Tranås, Sweden.
A family history poetry film from "TREE," a project on the geopoetics of place.
"Firewash" as both a poem and poetry film is a conversation with an ancestor who mined at a site in Cornwall in the 12th century. The poem (published in Earth Lines anthology, Autumn 2021) by Edinburgh Geological Society is based on the author’s experience of staying at the same location during a gale. It is taken from "TREE" which is a geopoetic family history and poetry film project across different periods and locations.
"Firewash" premiered at REELpoetry festival, Houston and the ZEBRA poetry film festival in 2021 and in 2023 at the Fringe in Tranås, Sweden.
III. On the Margin of History by Mary McDonald with Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar
On the Margin of History is a Poetry film and an Augmented Reality installation created by Mary McDonald in collaboration with Poets Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar. Boskic and Kebbewar were excited to tell their story through this collaboration since their countries, Serbia and Syria, experienced similar fates. When weaving their verses together, their lines overlapped, their words chased each other. Their voices echoed with the same emptiness, recognizing a human soul can be peeled, layer by layer, revealed through art.
Fragmented layers of sound and image within the poetry film reproduce a sense of displacement and erasure, exposing the reverberating loss of destruction of people and place, family, heritage, traditions, cultures. In the AR version the still images become short video clips. These fragments all explore the surreal experience of displacement.
On the Margin of History is witness to destruction of ancient history and sharp demographic change in Aleppo, city of six million people that lost ninety percent of its residents over six years, then filled with new people. It is witness also to the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia, culminating in the NATO bombing of Serbia where silence was the only response to events that left people shocked, disbelieving. On the Margin of History is a trans-disciplinary project considering tensions between personal voice and possibilities within sound and visual to suggest and reinforce false narratives and/or create understandings through metaphor, playing with all levels of perception. Text is digitally exploded, creating reverberating echoes of lost words, lost truths.
On the Margin of History is a Poetry film and an Augmented Reality installation created by Mary McDonald in collaboration with Poets Natasha Boskic and Mohamad Kebbewar. Boskic and Kebbewar were excited to tell their story through this collaboration since their countries, Serbia and Syria, experienced similar fates. When weaving their verses together, their lines overlapped, their words chased each other. Their voices echoed with the same emptiness, recognizing a human soul can be peeled, layer by layer, revealed through art.
Fragmented layers of sound and image within the poetry film reproduce a sense of displacement and erasure, exposing the reverberating loss of destruction of people and place, family, heritage, traditions, cultures. In the AR version the still images become short video clips. These fragments all explore the surreal experience of displacement.
On the Margin of History is witness to destruction of ancient history and sharp demographic change in Aleppo, city of six million people that lost ninety percent of its residents over six years, then filled with new people. It is witness also to the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia, culminating in the NATO bombing of Serbia where silence was the only response to events that left people shocked, disbelieving. On the Margin of History is a trans-disciplinary project considering tensions between personal voice and possibilities within sound and visual to suggest and reinforce false narratives and/or create understandings through metaphor, playing with all levels of perception. Text is digitally exploded, creating reverberating echoes of lost words, lost truths.
The Decomposing Piano
Open 24/7 in All Seasons
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
FREE, Join us August 9 and September 13 from 1 to 3 pm for an open Jam on the piano. All ages and abilities welcome.
Open 24/7 in All Seasons
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
FREE, Join us August 9 and September 13 from 1 to 3 pm for an open Jam on the piano. All ages and abilities welcome.
The Decomposing Piano is a semi-permanent outdoor installation that explores the effects of the Northern Ontario climate on an upright piano at its location at the NAISA North Media Arts Centre in South River, Ontario, Canada. This is inspired by musical explorations in Australia of performing on - and of collecting - 'ruined' pianos - pianos left outside in the natural environment for an extended period of time (see https://bolleter.wixsite.com/warpsmusic for further insights).
The Decomposing Piano at NAISA was installed in December 2022 at a point where the upright piano was still playable despite some tuning deficiencies. As time goes on it is expected to become more and more difficult to play. However, in the gradual "decomposition" or "weathering" of the piano over time, new sounds should emerge - some of which might require increasing amounts of aid from recording and amplification to be experienced. Through its entire decomposition process, the public is invited to play the piano at NAISA and experience its transformation until it is deemed unsafe to play. The NAISATube YouTube Channel features a 24/7 webcam of the Decomposing Piano. Visit the Decomposing Piano webpage for more background and an archive of improvisations and demonstrations.
The Decomposing Piano at NAISA was installed in December 2022 at a point where the upright piano was still playable despite some tuning deficiencies. As time goes on it is expected to become more and more difficult to play. However, in the gradual "decomposition" or "weathering" of the piano over time, new sounds should emerge - some of which might require increasing amounts of aid from recording and amplification to be experienced. Through its entire decomposition process, the public is invited to play the piano at NAISA and experience its transformation until it is deemed unsafe to play. The NAISATube YouTube Channel features a 24/7 webcam of the Decomposing Piano. Visit the Decomposing Piano webpage for more background and an archive of improvisations and demonstrations.
The Sensation of Distribution
By Mitchell Akiyama and Brady Peters
Open 24/7 year round
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
By Mitchell Akiyama and Brady Peters
Open 24/7 year round
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
The Sensation of Distribution is a reprise of Mitchell Akiyama and Brady Peters’s 2019 work, The Distribution of Sensation, which they created while artists in residence at The Bentway, a large, urban public space situated under an elevated highway in downtown Toronto. The Distribution of Sensation was a sound sculpture composed of PVC pipes installed around The Bentway that invited visitors to listen through the natural resonance of the cylinders, creating a series of musical experiences across the site. Mimic the plumbing infrastructure of the site, the installation was meant to create aesthetic slippages that might potentially lead to confusion as to what exactly functioned or counted as art.
The re-installation of this work at NAISA blends the pipe sculptures into a more domestic vernacular. Mounted on NAISA’s exterior walls to impersonate furnace vents and erupting from the ground to suggest rogue plumbing gone awry, The Sensation of Distribution re-invites visitors to explore the unnoticed or imminent sonic and aesthetic potential of our built environment.
The re-installation of this work at NAISA blends the pipe sculptures into a more domestic vernacular. Mounted on NAISA’s exterior walls to impersonate furnace vents and erupting from the ground to suggest rogue plumbing gone awry, The Sensation of Distribution re-invites visitors to explore the unnoticed or imminent sonic and aesthetic potential of our built environment.