Symposium on sound art in Switzerland

The field of sound arts is vast and diverse, and its definitions are subject to several modulations. By its very nature, the field is multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary, lying as it does at the boundaries of several musical sectors (contemporary, experimental, electronic, ethnomusicological), the plastic and visual arts, installation, sound poetry, certain experimental performing arts and acoustic ecology. It is perceived through listening, the visual, the sensory and the spatial, and is deployed in many different contexts, such as festivals, exhibition halls, concert halls, listening rooms, radio, the internet, architecture and public spaces.

In discussions with a number of people involved in this field in Switzerland, Arta Sperto became aware of the existence of several networks with varying geographies and configurations, who share interests and research, but who know each other in very different ways. This is due in part to geographical, linguistic and cultural differences, but it probably has even more to do with the different artistic backgrounds and distinct approaches to the field of sound arts.

The main aims of this symposium are to share experience and knowledge, and to bring people and artists together to build, consolidate and diversify a potential ‘community’. Some twenty entities, representing the diversity of sound arts practices in Switzerland, presented the orientations and challenges of their projects.
The symposium at the Bâtiment d’art contemporain (BAC) was extended by the Live Evening Symposium at cave 12, where the programme was devised by entities invited by Arta Sperto

Symposium on sound art in Switzerland at the Bâtiment d’art contemporain

Performances Symposium Live Evening at la cave 12