Open Call

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.

The second part of the symposium will also take place in an open-space format. An pen space is a participatory conference that allows large groups to work on complex issues in a self-organised process and to arrive at action-oriented results. Within the thematic framework of the conference – in this case, sustainability in contemporary music – the participants decide in advance on topics that are important to them and take over the responsibility for the individual sessions. During the Open Space, all participants are free to decide in which discussion groups they would like to participate (actively or passively).

We invite artists, activists, and sustainability researchers to propose sessions for the Open Space on 20 August at the Academy of Arts that they would like to lead during the symposium.

The topics and questions should relate to the guiding questions of the symposium: What knowledge and agency lies within music and sound, and to what extent does engagement with sustainability influence composing and music-making itself? In the sessions, the following questions can also be considered: To what extent are listening and hearing conditions for a deep understanding of and engagement with the environment? How can contemporary music engage in societal discourse on a high critical level while allowing space for its affective dimensions? What role and what responsibility does art have with regard to sustainability, and why must a global perspective be taken in answering the question?

The sessions last one hour each. The format is open and can range from lecture, guided discussion, workshop to listening session. However, we would like to point out that these are contributions to the conference, and artistic formats for transmitting knowledge are welcome. Concerts or other purely musical contributions, on the other hand, will take place within the framework of the festival.

• The honorary fee is 350 euros (gross).
• Travel and accommodation may also be covered.

If you are interested, please send a short abstract (max. 1 page) on the content and format of the session, brief personal details, and the technical requirements of the session (video, sound, etc.) to info [​at​] field-notes.berlin by 4th of June 2023.