KIBLIX 2022 Pre-event: Active listening workshop and artist talk with Simon Whetham

KIBLIX 2022 Pre-event: Active listening workshop and artist talk with Simon Whetham
Wednesday, 12 October 2022, 4–9 p.m.
MMC KIBLA

On Wednesday, 12 October 2022, between 4 and 7 p.m., we invite you to MMC KIBLA for an active listening workshop with sound artist and KIBLA2LAB resident of the RUK network Simon Whetham. The workshop will be followed by an artist talk at 7:30 p.m., during which the artist will discuss his own treatment of sound as a raw material for creation, the creation of material traces of sound, and the interdisciplinary collaboration with other artists, through selected projects from his fruitful, almost twenty-year long artistic practice.

Active Listening Workshop (4–7 p.m., MMC KIBLA)
At the beginning of the workshop, the artist will give a brief introduction to his working practice, methods and reflections on the act of listening itself, before taking the participants blindfolded through familiar and unfamiliar locations. This will allow them to focus on the sound characteristics of the environment without being distracted by visual associations. In other words, you will hear and enjoy the sounds for what they are, and further experience how our perception and reception of sounds is affected by the slightest change in position. The artist will also demonstrate different ways of recording sound using different techniques and microphones that are cheap and easy to make, such as contact microphones, induction coil sensors and hydrophones.

The workshop is aimed at a wide audience and different age groups; no prior knowledge is required, everyone is welcome. Places are limited to ensure the high quality of the workshop. Participants can register until Wednesday, 12 October 2022, by email to kibla@kibla.org.

Since 2005 Simon Whetham has focused on working with sound as a material for creation, often using environmental sound, employing various methods and techniques to obtain unnoticed and obscured sonic phenomena. His artistic investigations have allowed him to work increasingly in multi-disciplinary projects, leading his work to become more visual and tangible. He also explores ways of creating material traces of sound, and transforming energy forms. Simon performs and exhibits internationally, participating in In Vitrø 2019 (IT), Fresh Winds Biennale 2018 & 2016 (IS), Nakanojo Biennale 2017 (JP), ACC Showcase 2018 (KR), Tsonami Festival 2017 & 2012 (CL), Madeiradig 2010 & 2011 (PT) and Moers Festival 2011 (DE), and has composed works published through labels including Mappa (SK), Crónica (PT) and Line (USA). In 2017 the British Council supported Simon’s participation in the Tsonami Festival, Chile, and twice he received the Grant for the Arts from the Arts Council England, to attend the Mamori Sound Project, Amazonas, Brazil, 2007; and to organise the cultural exchange project 'Active Crossover' in 2009. Also supported by PRS for Music Foundation in 2011, it has since been hosted in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Norway and Australia, and most recently by MoKS, Estonia in 2015, supported by the Artists International Development Grant from the British Council and Arts Council England.

Website: https://www.simonwhetham.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonwhetham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhetham/