Festival of Ideas

Social Listening 

Artist: Hannah Kemp-Welch                                                                                                                                      Faculty: Swaroop Vijay Sardeshmukh
Participants: Adhavan Mohana Sivaraj / Ananya Shenoy / Jyostna Shiv Ganesh / Ujaan Majumdar / Patel Parth Nilesh / Piyush Singh / Sanaa Rakesh Mangalore  / Shaurya Rawal / Vismaya Ashok khatokar / George Panicker / Vedika Seth

What can you learn about Yelahanka through listening? This project borrows protocols for listening from sound art practice, for use as methodologies for socially-engaged arts. ‘Social listening’ is proposed as an essential starting point for work that seeks to initiate social dialogue. During this project, students listened together and separately, comparing experiences and examining their ‘listening positionalities’. Devising group agreements for collaborative working and ethical research practices, students considered how they might use artistic practice to connect to concerns in the neighbourhood. This process has resulted in three proposals for community-based projects.

Artist Bio: Hannah Kemp-Welch is a sound artist who focuses on community engagement and social issues in her work. She conducts PhD research at University of the Arts London, also teaching there. Her projects often involve collaborating with people affected by the issues discussed and organising activist responses. Please visit her website for more details on her work: www.sound-art-hannah.com

Faculty Bio: With more than 10 years of experience, Swaroop V Sardeshmukh is a film audio designer and Indian classical vocalist who has worked with award-winning filmmakers. He has a Bachelors of Commerce and a post-grad diploma in Film and TV with a specialisation in sound recording and sound design.