13 Dec 2013

Open call: 'Here. Now. Where?' Saout Radio at the 5th Marrakech Biennial

A participatory project of sonic ambulation in Marrakesh's taxis, during the 5th Marrakesh Biennial.

here, now, where? is a sonic urban ambulation, proposed by artists Younes Baba-Ali and Anna Raimondo, for the sound and radio art platform Saout Radio. Following an international open call, and at Saout Radio's invitation, a collection of soundscapes from different sensibilities, languages and formats will be diffused inside local taxis during the first week of the 5th Marrakesh Biennial (from 25th of February to 2nd of March 2014). In resonance with both Henri Lefebvre's 'right to the city' and the Biennial's proposal 'Where are we now?', Saout Radio poses the question of delocalisation in the present moment through the experience of listening in the urban space.

here, now, where? invites taxi passengers to experience the city through a sonic realm that is comprised simultaneously of a here and an elsewhere. In so doing, the project asks for the participation of the audience in discovering their environment in an alternative way. The project also questions the sonic transposal and translation of real or imaginary places, opening the notion of soundscape to a new range of possibilities. Instead of Raymond Murray Shafer's definition of soundscape as a 'specific sound environment', we embrace the idea that a soundscape is also able to sonically recreate mental and imaginary settings, rather than solely physical or real places.

here, now, where? establishes a listening-time exclusively composed for each taxi, which evokes physical places, but also builds and engenders landscapes which do not exist on geographical maps. The result will be a plurality of formats and approaches: phonography, field recording, chants collections, sonic compositions, sound poetries, slam, radio art, alternative narratives, vocal experimentations, etc. Taxi drivers will take part in the project to mediate the work with the public. A written description, including all the information on the pieces and artists involved, will be available in multiple languages inside each vehicle.


OPEN CALL :

1 . Sound work
A sound or radio production in .wav format which evokes a real or imaginary place : soundscape, musical or abstract composition, sound poetry, slam, phonography, sound walk. Its length should be max. 20 minutes (we also accept fragments from longer works, if it can work independently).

2 . Documentation (imperatively in English or French)
Synopsis of the sound work, 100 words maximum.
A visual of the work in .jpg, 300 dpi.
Biography of the artist or collective, 150 words maximum.
Link of the website or blog and his-her mail contact.

3 . Deadline and modality
The sound work and its documentation must be sent before 18th January 2014 on one file, by www.yousendit.com or www.wetransfer.com or www.dropbox.com at info@saout-radio.com with the object : 'Application form for here, now, where? + name and surname'.

4 . Dates of presentation of the project
The selection will be diffused in the taxis of Marrakesh during the first week of the 5th Marrakech Biennial (from the 25th February to the 2nd of March 2014).

5 . Conditions and selection criteria
This call is open to all artists, associations and collectives without any limitations of age or origins. There will be no fees for this project, Saout Radio will take charge of the diffusion and the communication of the selected projects during the Biennial and also on Saout Radio's web radio and on other platforms. After a careful listening of all the works received, Younes Baba-Ali and Anna Raimondo with the complicity of a jury made of experts in sound and radio art, will make a selection for 'here. now. where?', choosing those works which are more coherent with the context and spirit of the project. The results will be communicated the 28th January 2014. With author's permissions, selected works and other ones will be selected for diffusion on the web radio.


SAOUT RADIO :

Saout Radio is a web-radio and a platform, conceived with the intention of exploring and reflecting on radiophonic and sonic art practices with a specific focus on the artistic scenes of the Maghreb, Africa and the Middle-East. Founded in Morocco in May 2012 by artists Younes Baba-Ali and Anna Raimondo, this platform generates an artistic, curatorial and pedagogic space which aims to promote a south-south dialogue in this field, also from a theoretical point of view. Saout Radio is a sonic window and production area for new creations (soundscapes, radio art, documentaries, experimental music, slam, etc.), raising from all over Maghreb, Africa and the Middle-East, destined to be broadcasted throughout Fm radios but also diffused in art institutions, galleries or independent spaces of exhibit. Excluding visa or borderland problems, these proposals will travel through Arabic and African countries, but also across the European continent. Along the same vein, Saout Radio proposed in November 2012 at the Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the listening session 'Moroccan mix', presenting a panorama of contemporary audible art from Morocco inviting 11 artists from different disciplines and generations. The same selection has been travelling at San Paulo Biennial, broadcast on Mobile Radio Bsp; presented in Brussels, at the art center 'La Centrale-for contemporary art' and other venues. Saout Radio also offers an initiation to sonic alphabetization and experimentation, designed for different audiences and structures, through specific workshops, mobile listening devices and listening sessions.