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Urban vibrations: selfhood, sound and the city

Date uploaded: April 13, 2016

As part of the Practising Place programme, In Certain Places is proud to present an evening with artist Magda Stawarska-Beavan in conversation with historian Dr. James Mansell.

The event, which will take place at Nottingham Contemporary, will examine the politics of urban sound through reference to Stawarska-Beavan’s and Mansell’s individual research. Discussing issues of memory, anxiety and personal/public space, the speakers will examine urban noise as a site of contestation. Sharing their respective approaches to researching, collecting and editing city sounds, they will discuss the complex spatial narratives revealed by urban soundscapes, and explore how art and historical methods can encourage different forms of ‘critical listening’.
 
The event will also provide an opportunity to purchase East [hyphen] West, Sound Impressions of Istanbul - a limited edition publication and vinyl record by Magda Stawarska-Beavan, for the special price of £20.

About the speakers:
Magda Stawarska-Beavan’s practice is primarily concerned with the evocative and immersive qualities of sound. She is interested in how soundscape orients us and subconsciously embeds itself in our memories of place, enabling us to construct personal recollections and, moreover, it offers the possibility of conveying narrative to listeners who have never experienced a location. She works predominantly with sound, moving image and print, often connecting traditional printmaking processes with new technologies such as digital audio.

Click here to visit Magda's website

Dr. James Mansell is Assistant Professor of Cultural Studies in the Department of Culture, Film and Media at the University of Nottingham, where he also co-directs the Nottingham Sensory Studies Network, a research cluster supporting sensory work across the disciplines. His research has focused on the cultural history of sound and hearing, sound media, and on histories of sonic modernity and modernism. His forthcoming book The Age of Noise in Britain: Hearing Modernity will be published in the autumn by the University of Illinois Press.

Click here to visit James's research page

Practising Place is a programme of public conversations, designed to examine the relationship between art practice and place. Each event is hosted at a different venue and explores a specific aspect of place by bringing artists together with people from different backgrounds, who share a common area of interest.

Practising Place forms part of the In Certain Places project, which is based in the School of Art, Design and Fashion at the University of Central Lancashire, and is funded by the Arts Council of England.

Click here to find out more about Practising Place, or to book a ticket click here.

Image: Detail from Kraków to Venice in 12 hours by Magda Stawarska-Beavan, 2013

Image: Detail from Kraków to Venice in 12 hours by Magda Stawarska-Beavan, 2013