ARTS PLASTIQUES – Seminar Sound, Rhythm and the Street – Tate Britain – London – 24 October 2015

This seminar concentrates on the ways in which contemporary artists translate urban experiences through sound media and communication technologies. Salomé Voegelin presents listening to the urban environment as a civic engagement, highlighting the socio-political importance and consequence of hearing place. Samuel Bianchini’s work brings together old and recent communication technologies by transforming mobile phone messages into light that emerges in public space. In both practices, the aural involves the visual and vice versa, while the street becomes a space of interaction. Chaired by Anne Zeitz, the seminar reviews how artists use technology to reflect on the street, and what possibilities are offered by engaging with the virtual networks of contemporary cities.