International seminar and workshop by Nicola Di Croce, Sound Studies Hub!

 

13 April 2023

Badoer, aula Tafuri, aula T1, aula T2

 

promoted by Centro studi SSH! Sound Studies Hub

 

The Montreal based Sounds in the City team brings together partners from academia, the public sector, sound artists and urban professionals. It provides opportunities for architects, urban planners, policy makers, local organizations and city users to become more sound aware and co-design innovative tools to enhance the everyday experience of urban sounds.

 

speakers Catherine Guastavino and Edda Bild McGill University, Sounds in the city, Montreal, Nicola Di Croce and Francesca Gelli Iuav

 

workshop Sonic cohabitation in Venice
The workshop is open to students, researchers and professors interested in learning how to deal with questions on sound.

info and workshop booking nicola.dicroce@iuav.it

 

poster >>

 

 

 

The International workshop presents the work of the research partnership “Sounds in the City” (McGill University, Montreal). The guests of the day are Prof. Catherine Guastavino, founder and coordinator of the partnership, and Dr. Edda Bild, research lead (both representing Sounds in the City). Speakers include Dr. Nicola Di Croce, Marie-Curie Fellow and visiting researcher at Sounds in the City, and Prof. Francesca Gelli (Iuav).

The Sounds in the City team brings together partners from academia, the public sector (City of Montreal, Public Health Agency), sound artists and other practitioners. It provides opportunities for architects, urban planners, policy makers, local organizations and city users to become more sound aware and co-design innovative tools to enhance the everyday experience of urban sounds. The partnership thus aims to position Montreal as a leader in urban noise management and soundscape by connecting experts in soundscape, urban planning, and noise regulation. From 2014, the partnership contributed to 3 main areas: influencing urban sound management, conducting original soundscape research, and providing soundscape training for urban planners and other decision makers. Through outreach activities, it seeks to give Montreal residents a better understanding of city making, empowering them to shape their environment. 

Morning presentations will focus on recent studies in Montreal. The afternoon workshop will invite students, researchers and professors to engage with the concept of “sonic cohabitation”. The event is organized by Dr. Nicola Di Croce and supported by SSH! Sound Studies Hub (Iuav).

 

 

 

Sonic cohabitation in Venice

The workshop aims at exploring sonic perspectives on urban livability, attractiveness and inclusiveness by introducing the concept of soundscape persona as a sonic empathy building tool. Workshop participants will ‘play’ different fictional characters, that act as ‘stand-ins’ for real sonic stakeholders, to represent the sonic experiences of various city users. Participants will experiment with ways in which their soundscape personas’ needs and expectations interact with those of others in a particular context, in an innovative exercise aimed at highlighting the diversity of sound-oriented habits and needs. Drawing from expertise gained in Montreal by the Sounds in the City, the workshop shifts the focus to the local: the soundscape of Venice, centering around discussions on the issues that both cities face – although differently – overtourism, gentrification, impact of public events and festivals, etc. 

Participants are invited to join one of two parallel working groups focusing on (1) the Venice historic center or (2) the Mestre urban area; the outcomes of the discussions will be presented and discussing during a final plenary session. The workshop is open to students, researchers and professors (in architecture, urban planning, policy design, performing arts, etc.) interested in learning how to deal with questions on sound.

 

 

 

Catherine Guastavino is a Professor at McGill University and a member of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT). She directs the Sounds in the City partnership, which brings together diverse academics, professionals, artists, and citizens to rethink the role of sound in cities. She has published extensively on urban soundscapes, sensory experience, auditory perception, and music psychology. She also has extensive experience collaborating with industry partners, cultural institutions, as well as with municipal and provincial governments.

 

Edda Bild is a soundscape researcher and educator with over 10 years of experience in working on urban soundscapes and their relationship to public and private space use, in various European and North American contexts. She has developed and tested ways of documenting the urban auditory experience and of improving it in practice through intentional urban design and planning, with a strong focus on participatory approaches. Her interest lies in knowledge mobilization and communication, by educating urban stakeholders and the larger public on soundscape and promoting the idea of sound awareness as a resource.