A project to promote the qualities of silence and space in an urban context. Our project departs out of the experience and importance of urban silence and the connection between space and silence.
Not the physical definition of silence, or the acoustical definition counts. The main object of our phenomenological approach to silence is how sound unambiguously works on the human being (in this case in an urban context). Silence is an instrument of experience and as well as an instrument of knowledge. Silence is seen as a presence in the consciousness, experienced with the senses and via the body.
Our view connects with the Japanese concept of ‘Ma’, which you could describe as an interval which gives shape to the whole. This interval exists in time and space, which are inseperable. Cézanne painted and modelled space. Giacometti sculpted by "taking the fat off space". Mallarmé conceived poems with absences as well as words, Heinrich Boll sees himself as a ‘collector of silences’.
‘Ma’ underlies almost everything in Japanese culture and is an important component of communication. It explains the greater sensitivity of the Japanese to the silences which arrange speech, and thus to the context of any expression in which silence is integrated. Ma is an unseperable part of Japanese society and economy, even implying the use of ‘Ma’ in designing cars.
Silence is connected with all domains of urban and contemporary life through economy, ecology, culture, welfare, education, justice and health care in a process which is socially integrated and transgressing.
In this project we focus on the experience of urban silence in a broad and multidisciplinary perspective.
The project wants to realize a cultural bridge between the presence of silence as access to historical and natural soundscapes and the human inner experience of silence. Silence is not limited to a material-acoustical aspect, silence is as well a part of city life as an inner space, a breathing space.
Approaching silence is a project trying to involve young people in the making of and creating of (urban) silence. – We invite students and young artist into the design process and try to engage them in the future development of their environment and to excite them about the city. Approaching silence will explore silence in the city, looking for design tools for the shaping of places and urban experiences. The project will be developed in three stages:
“Silence is the new loud” n° 1 : Sharing silence
A day of talks, workshops, demonstrations and artistic performances exploring the relationship between city, space, silence and art. Contributors will include among others Stefaan van Biesen, Filip Van de Velde and Geert Vermeire (Belgium, sound-artists), Tres (Spain, artist creating silence in the city), Augustion Ioan (Romania, artist, architect, philosopher, specialist in sacred spaces and silence & architecture), Ileana Marin (Romania / US, art professor in Bucharest, Constanta, Seattle and Washington, expert in interdisciplinary approaches), Rhea Thönges Stringaris (art professor in the University of Athens, close friend of Joseph Beuys), Stephanie Brandt (UK, (sound-artist, architect), Raffaele Napoli (Italy, conductor, specialist in the phenomenology of music), Juan Gil Lopez, (Spain, sound–artist, musicologist), Miguel Alvarez Fernandez (Spain, composer, sound-artist), artists contributing to the project (see long list), contributors of
Interconeccion (Portugal/Spain/UK, research group Space and Subjectivity), and the University of Minho. During the day there will be concerts and performances dedicated to silence throughout the city.
Sequels will be organised in the University of Arts in Bucharest and in the O2 London in cooperation with the British Music Experience (BME) in May and June of 2012.
“Silence is the new loud” n° 2 : Spotting Silence
Urban silence design project. Artistst, students and young artists will explore the suburbs of the city to discover and (re)design silent zones via artistic interactions in cooperation with renowned artists. A map of silence will be made based on their experiences and create an exhibition of silence through the suburbs and in the parks of the suburbs via a route connected through installations. Participating students and young artists come from Guimaraes, Vigo, London, Athens, Rome, Bucharest, Ghent.
Long list of artists :
Steve Roden (US)
Carsten Nicolai (Germany)
Joanna Rajkowska (Poland)
Jacob Kirkegaard (Denmark)
Tres (Spain)
Jason Kahn (US, Switzerland)
Francisco López (Spain)
Michelle Nagai (US)
Akio Suzuki (Japan)
Ceal Flower (Pakistan, Germany)
Flavio Cury (Brasil, France)
Dawn Scarfe (UK)
Manu Holterbach (France)
Escoitar Collective (Spain)
Stefaan van Biesen (Belgium)
Stephanie Brandt (UK)
Silence is the new loud n° 3 : Silence online
The project will work as well on the realization of interactive online tools that will allow young people to explore, share and shape the ways everyday sounds and silence influence our perception of city.
This includes "a positive sound wikipedia"; thus implies to engage the wider public in the creation of an interactive 'map of silent places' first, which then, with the help of other artists could become more complex over time. The proposed idea is different to all current online tools/maps as they - to our awareness - are solely collecting [random] sounds without questioning the aural impact of sound and silence onto the environment and/or its inhabitants. As such they can be understood as pure aesthetic pieces or collections of information. Our project aims to provide an informal learning tool and critical instrument for (young) people to reflect and contribute to the future development of our environments.
During the three stages of the project there will be organized performances and events by the participating artists. For example :
- Whisper events : meeting place(s) where the music is replaced by images and colors, where people communicate through whispering or without using sound and where you can dance on silent vibrations.
- Whisper concerts : musical performances in public urban areas / public spaces where musicians are playing without sound or with little sound or use other media then sound to create music.
- Whisper walks : Sound walks through the city in the early morning or twilight with the artists, moments of transformation and silence
European Parliament of Silence : a meeting of artists and experts from different countries of Europe, leading to a City Directive to promote silence in an urban context (the Guimaraes Declaration of Silence)
The Guimaraes Declaration of Silence : declaration about urban silence as a right and essential human condition. It will be proposed for consent by the City Council of Guimaraes as a City Directive after which it will be an invitation to all other European cities to join it.
International Noise Awareness Day
In 1996 the US League for the Hard of Hearing initiated the annual “International Noise Awareness Day”. Since then organisations, action groups, medical doctors and acousticians across the world have been participating to this action day (date changing every year, but end of april).
No Music Day
The Scottish artist, pop musician (The KLF) and publicist Bill Drummond proclaimed No Music Day in 2006, a day on which everyone should get away from the constant stream of music to become aware again of the real significance of songs and music.
The date chosen was 21 November, the eve of the namesday of St Cecilia, who is considered the patron saint of music.
Building Silence / Quiet Urban Areas : Workshops and conferences about silence and architecture and about silence and urban space in an European context (reffering to the Environmental Noise Directive EC (END) [2002/49/EC] in which is mentioned that competent bodies could designate Quiet Areas. For urbanized areas this is called a Quiet Urban Area, abbreviated QUA.
Designing silence / the Economy of Silence : workshops and conferences about silence design and the relation between silence and economy (i.e. quiet technology).
TEAM AND ORGANISATION
Stephanie Brandt (architect), Stefaan Van Biesen (visual artist) and Geert Vermeire (artist, performer, musicologist) are curating the project. The last one, residing in Braga, is also responsable for the practical organisation of the event. Advisor to the team of curators is Augustion Ioan (architect, writer, philosopher).
The financial director of the projects is Bregt Smeets (sociologist and entrepreneur).
Technical assistance will be given by the Belgian organisation Helix, leaded by Robin Boone, and local technical partners. Media- and website design, inlcuding the IT- and other technological aspects of the projects will be leaded by Stephanie Brandt and Annemie Mestdagh (mediadesigner) in close cooperation with the technogical team of Escoitar, Vigo.
Press- and communication will be leaded by Simona Stanila-Vermeire (art critic and journalist), residing in Braga. Part of the practical elaboration will be done by graphical and media-designer Annemie Mestdagh.
The educative part of the project is leaded by Filip van de Velde (curator and director of Educative and Public Programme at the Museum of Contemporary Art Ghent) and by Geert Vermeire (art education expert).
Periodisation:
Summer 2010
Meeting of the complete team in Guimaraes
Planning and strategical decision-making about national and international funding resources and sponsoring
Autumn 2010
Meeting of the complete team in London
Finalizing of the project application for subvention by the European Union (Programme 2007-2013) and project applications for subvention by the local governments and sponsoring strategy
Winter 2011
Meeting of the team in Bucharest
Final decisions concerning the project (budget, artists, locations,...)
Finalization of the educative part of the project (the pre-trajectory)
Spring 2011
Prospection artists in Guimaraes
Meeting of the team in Ghent
Setting up a permanent administrative and educative team located in Braga-Guimaraes
Initiating promotion-activities
Summer 2011
Meeting of the team and the artists in Guimaraes
Autumn 2011
Meeting of the team in Guimaraes
Intensified promotion campaign
Sensibilisation and call for cooperation wider public, interaction with schools
Winter 2012
Meeting of the team in Guimaraes
Intensified promotion campaign
Sensibilisation and call for cooperation wider public, interaction with schools and students, first phase of website online
Spring 2012
Meeting of the team in Guimaraes
“Sharing silence” (day of talks and performances) on the occasion of International Noise Awareness Day (april) – sequels in the University of Arts in Bucharest (May) and in the O2 (London) with the BME (June)
“Spotting silence”
phase 1 : walking project with students and creation of exhibition ‘Connecting silence’ in the suburbs
phase 2 : editing and producing audio-guide and visitor’s map of exhibition ‘Connecting silence’
phase 3 : further development online tools and website
phase 4 : ‘silence-events’ from may – june combined with the launch of the exhibition for a wider public and interaction with schools
Summer 2012
Meeting of the team in Guimaraes
phase 2 : Exhibition ‘Connecting silence’ with performances
phase 3 : finalization interactive website and online publication about the project
September – October 2012
End of project
ART EDUCATIVE PROJECT
Pre-trajectory
This phase consists out of supplying information via meetings, lectures, interviews, workshops during the prospections of the artists and curators. Contacts with artists and curators are not common. We have selected the artists for our projects not only based on their artistic qualities but also based on their experience with public interactions. These interactions can be various, departing from the artistic works and the interests of the artists. Art educative activities will be developed departing out of these aspects.
Periodisation
Spring 2011
• General information and introduction of the programme to schools
• Prospection of artists
• High schools for art (for pupils till 18 years old): projects leaded by own teachers based on our information
• Art schools : meeting with artists, introduction to the projects, call for application
• Conferences : Geert Vermeire, Stefaan van Biesen, Stephanie Brandt
Summer 2011
• Information update and completing programme for schools
Autumn 2011
• Workshops schools (phase 1)
Winter 2012
• Selection of first creative results of schools & first phase of website online
• Workshops in schools (phase 2)
Spring 2012
• Exhibition project (international) students in the suburbs, public dialogue with the artists, launch of ‘walks of silence’ for schools till September 2012
• Results of the schools and students online
Summer 2012
Continuation of educative activities
September – Oktober 2012
End of project
Survey and groups pre-trajectory
The educative project is aiming to all schools of Guimaraes but also of the surrounding area and region, including academies and art schools.
Mainly we offer workshops which function as inflow of information and giving conscience of the public space and silence and the aspects on which the selected artists are focussing. Results will be texts about specific locations in the city, de artists and the art interventions of the artists in the city. The texts can be spoken or processed in songs, musical and visual contents, or soundscapes. The texts can also be used as additional information for the visitor. For each age group there will be different accents and contents, but everybody will be invited to contribute.
No comments:
Post a Comment