New Adventures in Sound Art’s (NAISA) is proud to present the 24th edition of SOUNDplay – an annual fall series that encourages new avenues of exploration between sound and new media.
“This year’s edition of SOUNDplay expands on the theme ‘There is Art in Our Nature’ by responding to the impact of climate change on water. The artists in SOUNDplay creatively probe and respond to this issue in very different ways by drawing attention to hidden layers of their local reality, allowing audiences to experience it through visual and sonic expression” – Darren Copeland, Artistic Director, New Adventures in Sound Art
Kincia Aia is an instrument designed by Rani Jambak that she will be using in her performance that opens SOUNDplay on September 20. The instrument is inspired by the traditional water wheel from Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is almost rare to see the traditional waterwheel now, partly because of the springs and rivers drying up in Minangkabau due to climate change. The interactive photo-sound installation Ice Voices by Robin Servant and Joan Sullivan invites the visitor to listen to what the disappearing ice in the St.Lawrence is trying to tell us and for the visitor to use their sense of touch and vision to explore further.
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.
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
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 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.
By Mitchell Akiyama and Brady Peters
Open 24/7 year round
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River, Ontario
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.