Listening Experiments

The listening experiments were sensory explorations, focusing on broadening the scope of the different ways we can listen. The heart of the experiments was the line: "There's no wrong way to listen." These experiments sought to open up the possibilities of how we engage with sound, and expand the sense that listening is a purely contained, still, ears-based experience.

There were two major listening experiments, and both were a collaboration between Groupmuse, Choreographies for Survival, Shattered Glass string orchestra, and the different host venues and funders. In both experiments, the space was divided up into four different quadrants -- each quadrant inviting a different mode of listening through prompts hung on the walls and listed in a pamphlet that each audience member received. At the halfway park of the musical performance, the boundaries between the quadrants were removed and the audience was then invited to mix and expand the types of listening they were exploring.

2017

The first one took place at Pioneer Works, in Brooklyn NY, in 2017. Thanks to Gabe Rubin for the video.

2018

The second listening experiment took place in Riverside Church, in Manhattan, in 2018. Thank you to Erin Pearlman for these incredible photos [erinpearlman.com]



For a full sense of the prompts and process go to the online page from Jane Manwelyan, co-organizer and primary artist behind the project and founding faculty of School of Apocalypse.