Assemblies of Listenings and Voices Across the South
21.-25. August 2022
Akademie der Künste, Berlin
SOUNDINGS was a 5-day gathering at Akademie der Künste Berlin on 21 – 25 August 2022. The assembly nurtured conversations and scholarly encounters to address the current dearth of critical engagement with Global Souths, and their artistic un-presence in hegemonic Eurological academia and curatorial settings. The focus was on practices, aesthetic histories, artists, and thinkers who come from or engage with discourses, reception formats, and artistic practices that do not draw on or do not situate themselves within or with deference to these hegemonic Eurocentric contexts. It was intended to be the first-ever meeting in which voices of artists, makers, critical theories, and aesthetic practitioners from outside the Eurocentric fields may enter into mutual dialogue and listening without needing to understand themselves through the assumptions and predilections of Western concepts and practice. It was meant to be a meeting dedicated primarily to the dialogues between the epistemologies of what we term the “Sonic Global South” – and to critical analyses of aesthetic and discursive hegemonies, institutional biases, and parochial canons in medial, sonic, and musical discourses and practices. This sonic assembly avoided the usual conference format of a succession of 20-minute lectures and Q&A, leavened by panels. In these 5 days, with each day dedicated to a question, new modes of listening, sharing, and caring were generated from the ground up together with the participants in ways that reflected their situated models of encounter, sociality, knowledge-transfer, listening and deliberations – from multiple simultaneous one-to-one dialogues to the collective fashioning of proverbs – allowing for such variable modes of encounter was central to the de-hegemonizing and de-colonizing impulses of this gathering.
Program Overview:
Sunday, 21 August
- COFFEE, TEA AND SNACKS → 10:00 Hrs
- LISTENING BOOTHS AND
READING ROOM OPENING → 10:15 Hrs
- SILENT KEYNOTES → 10:30 Hrs
Why are we here?
- INTRODUCTORY REMARKS → 10:45 Hrs
From the Steering Committee
- PANCHAYAT → 11:00 Hrs
(Focused debates) on questions of Decoloniality and
critiques of Western Modernity, Listening to the non-West
- THROWING A STONE INTO THE POND → 12:00 Hrs
Luka Mukhavele
- FOLLOWING THE RIPPLES → 12:30 Hrs
Discussion
- LUNCHTIME → 13:00 Hrs
- WORKSHOPS ON COLLECTIVE CREATION
AND/OR SONIC GROUP GAMES → 14:00 Hrs
Sandeep Bhagwati
- WORKSHOP ON TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING
FROM SOUTH ASIA → 14:00 Hrs
Sudipta Dawn (Culture Monks)
- WORKSHOP ON DHRUPAD → 14:00 Hrs
Ashish Sankrityayan (3 hours)
- MELA → 17:00 Hrs
Social gathering and celebrations
<!–
- LISTENING BOOTHS OPENING; → 17:00 Hrs
Reading room opening–>
- INSTITUTIONAL VISIT → 17:30 Hrs
Berlin School of Sound (ACUD)
- THANH → 19:00 Hrs
Sensing Sounds
Sonic Intervention – Juan Duarte
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PANCHAYAT
An assembly in which members of a village community discuss issues together to find consensus and settle disputes between individuals and the community.
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MELA
A gathering held to celebrate a festival, market, religious event, often accompanied by music, dance, theater and other cultural activities.
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THANH
Thanh is a Vietnamese word that, when read without context, could imply several meanings such as sound and tone. In Vietnamese, it is used to describe something that is long thin/light/transparent/clear/young/tranquil.
Monday, 22 August
- WORKSHOP ON PLANT SINGING AND LISTENING → 09:00 Hrs
Rupert Huber (AdK outdoor)
- COFFEE, TEA AND SNACKS → 10:00 Hrs
- SILENT KEYNOTES → 10:30 Hrs
What are we debating? / Common sonic practice
- THAO LUAN → 11:00 Hrs
(Focused debates) on Terminologies – Group Discussion
- THROWING A STONE INTO THE POND → 12:00 Hrs
Amit Dinesh Patel
- FOLLOWING THE RIPPLES → 12:30 Hrs
Discussion
- LUNCHTIME → 13:00 Hrs
- WORKSHOP ON DHRUPAD → 14:00 Hrs
Ashish Sankrityayan (3 hours)
- WORKSHOP ON INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS
AND PRACTICES e.g. Bauls → 14:00 Hrs
Maham Suhail
- ARTISTS’ TALK → 14:30 Hrs
Lecture-performance by Tetseo Sisters (online)
- WORKSHOP ON MAKAM → 15:00 Hrs
Traditional Turkish Music – Murat Gürel (60 mins)
- WORKSHOP ON LISTENING MATERIALITY
THROUGH FOUND SCORES → 16:00 Hrs
Hardi Kurda
- HOI HOP → 17:00 Hrs
(Social gathering and discussions)
- PRESENTATIONS → 17:00 Hrs
Sandeep Bhagwati / David Vélez
Sudipta Dawn / Amanda Gutierrez
- FILM SCREENINGS → 17:00 Hrs
Virelai Chakra (Sandeep Bhagwati, 2020) 20 min
Kalkimanthankatha (Ashish Avikunthak, 2015) 79 min
- SABOR → 19:00 Hrs
Cooking together
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THAO LUAN
Thảo luận is a Vietnamese word meaning to discuss issues with an emphasis on analyzing arguments.
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Hội Họp
Hội Họp is a Vietnamese word that refers to a social gathering. It combines two single words: Hội (which means festival; group) and Họp (meaning meeting to discuss something).
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Sabor
– To collect, to assemble (събор, from Sabiram)
Tuesday, 23 August
- WORKSHOP ON PLANT SINGING AND LISTENING → 09:00 Hrs
Rupert Huber (AdK outdoor)
- COFFEE, TEA AND SNACKS → 10:00 Hrs
- SILENT KEYNOTES → 10:30 Hrs
What are we debating?
- PANCHAYAT → 11:00 Hrs
(Focused debates) on institutions and funding,
support, and sustenance
- THROWING A STONE INTO THE POND → 12:00 Hrs
Ashish Avikunthak (online)
- FOLLOWING THE RIPPLES → 12:30 Hrs
Discussion
- LUNCHTIME → 13:00 Hrs
- INSTITUTIONAL VISIT → 14:00 Hrs
Humboldt Forum
- SOUND WALK → 14:00 Hrs
Amanda Gutierrez
- INSTITUTIONAL INTRODUCTION → 15:00 Hrs
Humboldt Forum
- Sound Practices in the Global South: Co-listening
to Resounding Plurilogues (2022, Palgrave) → 16:00 Hrs
-Book presentation at Humboldt Forum
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
- MELA → 17:00 Hrs
Social gathering and celebrations
- PRESENTATIONS → 17:00 Hrs
Janardan Ghosh (online)/ Trần Kim Ngọc/ Oladele Ayorinde
Listening to the Other (2020)
–book presentation – Stefan Östersjö
- FILM SCREENING → 17:00 Hrs
Dhrupad (Mani Kaul, 1983) 70 mins
- MESK → 19:00 Hrs
Jam Sessions:
Mini Violin Concert (Turkish Makam/Traditional Turkish Music)
-Murat Gürel (30 min)
Audio Leakage Community: Intro + Jam Session (partly online)
×
PANCHAYAT
An assembly in which members of a village community discuss issues together to find consensus and settle disputes between individuals and the community.
×
Melā
A gathering held to celebrate a festival, market, religious event, often accompanied by music, dance, theater and other cultural activities.
×
Meşk
A method of transferring knowledge within the master-apprentice relationship in traditional Turkish music.
Wenesday, 24 August
- WORKSHOP ON PLANT SINGING AND LISTENING → 09:00 Hrs
Rupert Huber (AdK outdoor)
- COFFEE, TEA AND SNACKS → 10:00 Hrs
- SILENT KEYNOTES → 10:30 Hrs
What can we contribute new? / Common sonic practice
- YELAB AND GISALO → 11:00 Hrs
(Collective soundings) Manifesto on future listening
- THROWING A STONE INTO THE POND → 12:00 Hrs
Moushumi Bhowmik (online)
- FOLLOWING THE RIPPLES → 12:30 Hrs
Discussion
- LUNCHTIME → 13:00 Hrs
- PRESENTATIONS → 14:00 Hrs
Nguyễn Thanh Thủy
- ARTISTS’ TALK → 14:30 Hrs
Lecture-performance by Tetseo Sisters (online)
- WORKSHOP ON DHRUPAD → 14:00 Hrs
Ashish Sankrityayan (3 hours)
- WORKSHOPS ON COLLECTIVE CREATION
AND/OR SONIC GROUP GAMES → 14:30 Hrs
Sandeep Bhagwati
- WORKSHOP ON TRANSCRIPTION → 15:30 Hrs
Turkish Makam Music – Murat Gürel (45-60 min)
- WORKSHOP ON VOICES IN WAYS OF SINGING
AND COMMUNICATING IN MUSIC FROM
THE SOUTH OF EUROPE (MELOS) → 16:00 Hrs
Deniza Popova and Fenja Abraham
- HOI HOP → 17:00 Hrs
Social gathering and discussions
- ARTISTS’ TALK → 17:00 Hrs
Ximena Alarcon / Nandita Kumar
- FILM SCREENING → 17:00 Hrs
Siddheshwari (Mani Kaul, 1989) 120 min
- TRIALOGUE: SKETCHING SOUTH ASIAN URBAN SOUNDS
AND SITUATED LISTENING – KOLKATA → 18:00 Hrs
Ruchir Joshi, Nilanjan Bhattyacharya
and Budhaditya Chattopadhyay (60 mins)
- NGOMA → 19:00 Hrs
Cooking sound with David Vélez
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YELAB AND GISALO
Yelab: a lament in which women go from crying to singing.
Gisalo: describes a physical form of singing and dancing.
×
Hội Họp
Hội Họp is a Vietnamese word that refers to a social gathering. It combines two single words: Hội (which means festival; group) and Họp (meaning meeting to discuss something).
×
Ngoma
A tradition of expression through forms such as music, drumming, dance and storytelling.
Thursday, 25 August
- WORKSHOP ON PLANT SINGING AND LISTENING → 09:00 Hrs
Rupert Huber (AdK outdoor)
- COFFEE, TEA AND SNACKS → 10:00 Hrs
- SILENT KEYNOTES → 10:30 Hrs
What is the future of this gathering?
- PANCHAYAT → 11:00 Hrs
(Focused debates) on next steps (Summary Session)
- THROWING A STONE INTO THE POND → 12:00 Hrs
meLê yamomo
- FOLLOWING THE RIPPLES → 12:30 Hrs
Discussion
- LUNCHTIME → 13:00 Hrs
- INSTITUTIONAL VISIT → 14:00 Hrs
HKW (House of World Cultures)
- MAJLIS → 17:00 Hrs
Musical gathering and celebrations
With Splitter Orchestra at TBA
×
Panchayat
An assembly in which members of a village community discuss issues together to find consensus and settle disputes between individuals and the community.
×
Majlis
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Initiated by:
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
Sandeep Bhagwati
Steering committee:
Glaucia Perez da Silva
Deniza Popova
Bhavisha Panchia
Nguyen Thanh Thuy
Oladele Ayorinde
Murat Gürel
Sandipan Nath
Budhaditya Chattopadhyay
Sandeep Bhagwati
SOUNDINGS is produced by matralab Montréal and Sound Across Den Haag, and financially and/or strategically supported by Akademie der Künste Berlin, inm / field notes berlin, Creative Industries Fund The Netherlands, Sounds Now and Ultima Festival Oslo.
Sound Across 