Time to Listen
An Open Space on Sustainability in Contemporary Music
On 19th and 20th August 2023, inm/field notes and the Academy of Arts are welcoming participants to the second part of the symposium “Time to Listen – Sustainability in Contemporary Music”. Through open discussions, expert presentations, and artistic contributions, the symposium will explore issues surrounding the knowledge and agency within music and sound, and the extent to which engagement with sustainability influences the practice of composing and performing music.
In an Open Space format, the conference brings together artists, curators, activists from the field of contemporary music, and sustainability experts to rethink our relationships with each other and the environment, as well as to develop new visions for the future through the means of contemporary music. The conference provides an opportunity to gain knowledge, form new networks, and launch initiatives.
While discussions about sustainability and culture often focus on reducing the negative impact of the sector, this year's “Time to Listen” conference will centre on the aesthetic dimensions of artistic engagement with the topic and the unique potential of music to have a positive impact on social change. The symposium will also examine the extent to which listening is a condition for a deep understanding and engagement with the environment. Furthermore, it will address the role and responsibility of art in sustainability and pose the necessity of a global perspective to answer these questions.
On 19th August – in addition to sound walks and tours with presentations on sound installations by David Monacchi, Frau von Da, Jacob Kirkegaard, Susan Ibarra, Claudia Gonzáles Godoy, Marcus Maeder, and the Acoustic Ecology Lab – there will be open discussions with artists on the topics of “Artistic Practice Between Community, Science, and Aesthetics” and “Autonomy of Art and Political Engagement”.
On 20th August, the symposium will continue with an Open Space, where open discussions and workshops will address the central themes and questions of the symposium. Artists, activists, and sustainability researchers are invited to propose sessions for the Open Space through an open call by the 4th of June. More information here.
The second part of the symposium builds on discussions from the first edition in October 2022. The report can be read here.
The conference takes place as part of the “Time to Listen” festival at the Academy of Arts, from 28th August to 3rd September, bringing together international artists who respond to the climate and environmental crisis through music. The festival presents different artistic perspectives that encourage reflection on our relationship to the environment, technology, indigenous knowledge, climate justice, and consumption in the Anthropocene, taking a global perspective.
Academy of Arts
Hanseatenweg, 19th and 20th August 2023
The complete programmewill be announced on 15th June 2023.
