Sound Art Brighton in Bern
20 Years of Sound Art programme, Bern University of the Arts
Location
Bern
Switzerland
Date & time
15-17 September 2022
SOUNDER
The Anglo-Swiss artist collective SOUNDER was invited to Bern on occasion of the 20th anniversary of their Sound Art department of the Bern University of the Arts in September 2022.
The collaboration of former and present students from three universities (the University of Brighton, University of Sussex and Bern University of the Arts (HKB, Switzerland) brought together by Sound Art Brighton, presented two of their projects, which had been premiered at the Sound Art Brighton festival in March 2022.
SOUNDER Postcards
SOUNDER Postcards was originally an online work-exchange that ran during the pandemic, comprised of field recordings and compositions related to the UNESCO Biospheres of Brighton and Bern. They were eventually installed as a wall-display in the form of two schematic maps with QR-codes marking where the recordings were made, and giving access to the sounds and images via smartphones.
The maps are installed in the main building of the Sound Art department and can be seen and heard there until the beginning of 2023.
Sound Skater
Sound Skater is a flash sound happening, diffusing sounds recorded in the natural environments around Brighton and Bern into the city space. Executed with a group of local skaters equipped with Bluetooth speakers, sounds are kept in constant motion, creating a dynamic interactive soundscape around and amongst the audience.
Premiered in March 2022 in a city park in Brighton, in Bern the event was performed in an austere car park next to a trainline, providing it with a very different character, but retaining the original aim of rewilding the city.
The anniversary celebration also included a three-day international symposium about Sound Art between Electroacoustic Music and Media Art, at which Kersten Glandien gave a key talk on the development of Sound Art over the last 20 years: Relational Sound – attempting an inventory.
