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SOUNDplay 2023

NEW ADVENTURES IN SOUND ART Presents:
22nd Annual SOUNDplay Festival
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, South River, ON, Canada
Sep 9 – Dec 09, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SOUTH RIVER, ON – August 22, 2022: New Adventures in Sound Art’s (NAISA) is proud to present the 22nd edition of its SOUNDplay Festival.  SOUNDplay is an annual fall Festival that encourages new avenues of exploration between sound and new media. This year’s edition features works by Don Ritter, Jessica Thompson and Kelly Ruth that use both old and new technologies to explore the theme Remote Connections. A new addition to the Festival will be the 48-Hour Sound Art Challenge – a weekend intensive that invites sound and media artists to create a sound art miniature in the rural environs of Warbler’s Roost.

The telephone made it possible to connect people in real time across long distances. As telecommunications and entertainment media continue to expand and diversify in the 21st Century, technological elements find a place in many aspects of the human experience.  SOUNDplay’s focus this year will be on media art works that mix old tools and technologies with virtual digital applications that deepen our sense of place and being in the world.” — Darren Copeland, Artistic Director, New Adventures in Sound Art

SOUNDplay opens with an Artist Talk and Walking Workshop 
with Jessica Thompson Sept 9 and interactive exhibits Sept 14 to Dec 4

Hamilton artist, Jessica Thompson, will be at NAISA on September 9 for an artist talk and walking workshop from 1 to 3 pm to introduce her Borderline Map-Making Project that has been tailored to the Almaguin Highlands region. The following week after the Walking Workshop, from September 14 to December 4, a large-scale soundmap of the Almaguin Highlands will be on exhibit at NAISA that will be continually updated with contributions from residents and guests to the region who will be invited to borrow a toolkit to map sounds in areas of their choice, or by using the Borderline iOS app.

Also on exhibit for the same period will be O telephone by Don Ritter.  Ritter worked as a telecom engineer before establishing an internationally celebrated career in interactive video in the 1990s.  O telephone recalls those early years. When visitors to the installation answer a ringing 1960’s analog telephone, contemplative vocal sounds begin circling around them.  NAISA will open the exhibit with an Artist Talk by Don Ritter that is both in-person and virtual artist talk on September 14 at 7 pm.

48-Hour Sound Art Challenge Weekend Intensive

From October 13 to 15, NAISA invites artists to a weekend intensive where they will be tasked with the challenge of creating a sound art miniature in a 48-hour time period.  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.  Peer learning and sharing will be encouraged through the process and NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland will be on hand to assist. Results of the challenge will be shared afterwards on NAISA Radio and NAISA social media channels.

Second Life Performance Installation Dec 7 to 9 with Kelly Ruth

From December 7 to 9, NAISA will host a performance installation by Edmonton Artist Kelly Ruth that will include performances at the NAISA Space and in the digital world of Second Life using the sounds of a weaving loom manipulated by electronics effects pedals.  Ruth’s performance will be Screened on December 12 at 2 pm during youandiarewaterearthfireairoflifeanddeath on YouTube. Second Life allows her to collaborate, build community and share skills. “Engaging in art in immersive environments through an avatar representation of oneself allows the audience member to engage with the work on their own terms in a playful and creative way that often blurs the relationship between audience and artist.” — Kelly Ruth

New Adventures in Sound Art is a non-profit sound art organization in South River Ontario that is funded in part by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage.

What: SOUNDplay Festival
Where: NAISA North Media Arts Centre and Warbler’s Roost, South River
When: September 9 to December 9, 2023
Cost: Pay-What-You-Can Donation for exhibitions
FREE for Artist talks and Walking Workshop
$283 registration and accommodation fee for 48-Hour Sound Art Challenge

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Media contact:  Darren Copeland 
                          Artistic Director, New Adventures in Sound Art 
                          705-978-4447 
                          outreach@naisa.ca / www.naisa.ca

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