https://open.spotify.com/episode/3RjMIxJlXkr0Oc775b1ZOK?si=7y8jTk0xRRKYzVjvGn086g

special edition : winter diary revisited (music only) is a 16 minute version of e99 and é100 without any narrative. See e99 for more information on winter diary revisited in English. 

The post special edition : winter diary revisited (music only)  appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term “conscient” is defined as “being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations”. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016-2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie”s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that “I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, “the state of things as they actually exist”, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way”. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I”m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation :

Go to conscient.ca

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This is the ’40-minute composition only’ version of episode 99 . See episode 99 for details on winter diary revisited – homage to r. murray schafer. It is intended for those who want to listen to the composition only without the 25′ introduction and 3′ of credits.

The post e99 (b) winter soundscape revisited – homage to r. murray schafer (composition only) appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

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e99 winter diary revisited - homage to r. murray schafer (25' introduction + 40' composition in 12 parts + 3m credits) is a 68-minute episode that closes season 3 and features a soundscape composition of mine based on an unpublished essay that composer R. Murray Schafer wrote after a 10-day field recording trip that he and I undertook in rural Manitoba in February 1997 to produce a radio program on winter soundscapes for the Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (WDR). In this episode, I ‘revisit’ this trip by illustrating Schafer's text with new winter soundscapes recorded in Ontario and Quebec in 2022 as well as archival soundscapes. The final mix was realized and presented as part of a residency at the New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) in South River, Ontario. 2. e99 (b) winter diary revisited - homage to r. murray schafer (composition only) is the 40-minute composition only (without the introduction or credits). A video version is also available on vimeo. The French language version is cons conscient episode 100. I'll be back with season 4 in the spring. 

Episode Notes

Note: the text below is a transcription of the narration in the episode (sounds are described, with their source where possible)

Welcome to episode 99 of the conscient podcast, the last episode of season 3, which you might recall was on the theme of radical listening. 

(fade in of sound of barn)

I invite you to guess what is this space. There are some sonic clues. It’s clearly an indoor space and yet there is a hollowing wind with a deep, rich texture… You can hear the gentle crackling of wood… the occasional slap of a rope… a squirrel. 

(fade out sound of barn)

This soundscape was recorded on January 19^th, 2022, in a barn, on a farm that belonged to composer R. Murray Schafer and is now the home of his wife, the singer Eleanor James. The farm is located near Indian River, Ontario, about 20k east of Peterborough which is the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe Mississauga people adjacent to Haudenosaunee Territory and in the territory covered by the Williams Treaty. 

I went to the farm to record winter soundscapes for this episode, Winter Diary Revisited, which is a soundscape composition dedicated to the memory of composer, writer, music educator, and environmentalist, R. Murray Schafer.

While visiting the farm, I had a conversation with Eleanor James about Murray and his relationship to winter. Here is an excerpt:

Claude: I’m with Eleanor James and I just spent some time in your barn. Thank you so much. I recorded a bunch of sounds, and I went into the forest and captured sounds of wind and some of the things that Murray and I did when we did the Winter Diary, which is to do this kind of yelling out, to enliven the space and get a feeling of it.

 (sound of snowshoeing and distant ‘Hey’ at the farm on January 19, 2022)

Claude: There are so many things that you could talk about Murray. Any thoughts about soundscapes but also around recording and winter sounds? 

Eleanor: There’s a couple of things come to mind, which are in his creative output and one of them is Music in the Cold. It’s a lovely little manifesto done in an artistic style about how it’s better to be in the North than in the South and that music in the cold is tougher and hardier and more austere and (laughs) so he goes into a diatribe about that kind of thing. He really is a Northern personality. So, you have to forgive him for going on a rant about it, but, of course, it was an artistic creation, so it was intended to be hyperbolic. I think it’s quite delightful. It’s got a midnight blue cover and then the title Music in the Cold.

Speaking of which, he has written a wonderful string quartet called Winter Birds which the Molinari quartet of Montreal have recorded, in which his own voice occurs in the very last movement where he describes the winter of 2005 looking out his studio window at the birds feeding. We used to fill the feeders with seeds, and we’d have all kinds of little birds coming and fluttering and going and making little soft sounds. In the string quartet, he describes a whole event of birds, just fluttering and coming and going and the total silence surrounding them, not only acoustically, but visually as well. Nothing but the snow, just like it is today, with snow heaped everywhere and just these little birds making tiny fluttering sounds with their wings.

There’s also the piece that he wrote for choir called Snowforms which is actually quite popular, and he wrote it as a graphic score and it’s written on a sort of pale turquoise green paper, and the choir reads the shapes of snow and again, those shapes were something that he observed looking out his studio window and drew graphically and then composed it so that pitches were associated with these tones. It’s just a marvelous description of winter and so for Murray, all of the soundscape work that he was so interested in fed into his artistic abilities and his artistic gifts as a composer.

---

Note: See String Quartet no. 10 – Winter Birds (extrait) / R. Murray Schafer for an excerpt of Winter Birdsperformed by the Molinari Quartet. See Snowforms for a performance of Snowforms by the Vancouver Chamber Choir.

I re-read Murray’s Music in the Cold book when I got back home to Ottawa, which he wrote in 1977, when I was 17. It’s interesting to look back at this piece of artistic reflection and provocation. Here are the last 11 lines of the book: 

Saplings are beginning to sprout again in the moist earth.

Beneath it animals can be heard digging their burrows.

Soon the thrush will return.

The old technology of waste is gone.

What then remains?

The old virtues: harmony; the universal soul; hard work.

I will live supersensitized, the antennae of a new race.

I will create a new mythology.

It will take time.

It will take time.

There will be time. 

(fade in recording of Eclogue for an Alpine Meadow)

I remember back in August of 1985, the late composer Robert Rosen, Murray and I produced a series of ecological radio programs to be performed at Spry Lake, near Canmore, Alberta. Murray was in Banff to present his music theatre piece Princess of the Stars. We each wrote a piece of music for this space.  Mine was for bass clarinet and trombone called ‘Eclogue for an Alpine Meadow’ . You can hear me on bass clarinet. Murray was a mentor to Robert and myself on this project, sharing his vast experience in writing music for and with a natural environment. 

Note: You can hear the entire piece on the Whom Am I page of the conscient podcast website. 

Murray’s music, and in particular his research in acoustic ecology, have had a deep influence on many composers, educators, researchers and sound artists around the world, including myself. Among other things, Murray taught me how to listen deeply, both with my ears and with a microphone.

I remember having long conversations with Murray about listening, radio, acoustic ecology, field recording, technology, including how it make a living as a composer. Here is a short excerpt from a conversation I had with him in July of 1990 in a restaurant in Peterborough. I apologise for the poor quality of the recording, but I think you’ll enjoy listening to Murray speak about the art of listening:

You probe by asking further questions. Was it inside? Was it outside? Are there a lot of people assembled there? Is there nobody there? Is this in Canada? Is it outside of Canada? Is it in Europe? You heard a train. Is it Canadian train whistle or a European train whistle? You heard a language. What language was it you heard? Any of these cues that you might have heard that would help you identify where you were and then tell them afterwards where the actual recording was made but force them to really use their ears. Did you hear any birds? Did you hear any of this, did you hear any sounds that would help you to localize? I’m just saying that that’s one sort of type of exercise, which I think someday somebody should put together a package, an educational package.

I just feel that one has to constantly go back to nature and listen again, look again, learn again. It’s as simple as that. Anytime you get too far in touch with it, you’re probably going to be in trouble. If you don’t know how to come, go back and look at a butterfly, because you’re so spell bound by strobe lights or something, I think you’re in trouble, which is not to say that you can’t go back and look at it and reanalyze it. It will change things and then you go back to your old environment and see things differently. In nature, what you’re so conscious of is a cycle of life and death, and rather the interchange, that almost sine wave of life and death, but also of silence and activity and that there are certain times when certain creatures are far and certain other times when they speak and that you take in the natural soundscape. Sometimes it’s hard to find those rhythms in a modern urban soundscape where everybody sounds so aggressively trying to catch the attention of everyone else.

Claude: they lose touch with the balance of their lives.

Murray passed away on August 14, 2021, at age 88 in his farmhouse.

Shortly after his passing, I was honoured to be asked to write a remembrance piece about my personal experience with Murray. This request came from Eric Leonardson, president of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE) an organization that Murray helped found in 1993 at the Banff Centre and that continues its good work to this day. Kirk MacKenzie and Robin Elliott of the University of Toronto also approached me to write a remembrance piece about Murray for a series of memorials they are producing about Murray and his legacy. 

I decided to produce a soundscape composition instead of writing an article for this remembrance piece. Here’s the story.

In 1996, Murray received a commission from the Akustische Kunst department of the West German Radio, the WDR, in Germany, produced by Klaus Schöning, to record a radio program about the winter soundscapes of rural Manitoba called Winter Diary. Murray had produced many radio pieces before for the CBC and the WDR, but he needed a hand with this rather large-scale production, so he hired me as a recordist, editor and mixer, but also as a driver and scout. I was 37 at the time and was about to be married to filmmaker Sabrina Mathews and start a family in Montreal, which we did.  However back then I still had the time and energy to do a 10-day road trip and to spend weeks afterwards editing it together with Murray. We certainly had a lot of fun together on that trip

(sequence of Claude and Murray laughing during the recording of ‘Winter Diary’ in 1997)

Winter Diary ended up winning the Karl-Sczuka-Prize for radio art in 1998. I was deeply moved by the jury’s statement, which I think captures the spirit of Murray’s composition and the essence of our collaboration in its production:

It is with great autonomy and imperturbability that Schafer draws the sound spectrum of a Canadian winter into his acoustic image. From the calm sequence of concise sound events an acoustic landscape emerges, almost spatial in its presence. To the point of noiselessness, of silence, everything audible is there concretely and non-arbitrarily. It is a work which ushers its listeners to a place of unhurried, patient listening, insists upon the wealth of nuances in acoustic perception, and takes a stand against sound refuse and staged hyperactivity.

Winter-Diary-Essay-by-R.-Murray-SchaferDownload

While I was doing research for this piece, I found the first draft of an unpublished, 13-page essay in my archives that Murray wrote, at his farm, on February 15^th, 1997, about the creation of Winter Diary. I was so excited. It’s a brilliant piece of writing about our adventures in Manitoba, but the essay also includes reflections on a number of other issues: listening, art history, philosophy, his dreams, literature, and use the microphone. I decided to create a composition around his essay. A sonic illustration and interpretation of his words. 

But first let me tell a bit of a story about microphones. Murray had a love – hate relationship with the microphone. Here is another excerpt from that July 1990 restaurant conversation where he talks a bit more about distant listening, which is a key element of his aesthetic:

If the microphone replaces your ear, there’s something wrong. And as you see in a lot of our listening that the microphone has replaced the ear. The mere fact that for instance, we demand presence on all recorded sounds and they’re all close mic-ed, is a recognition of the fact that the microphone, which is an instrument for getting closeups, is respected more than our own sort of hearing experience. The fact that we can no longer listen to the distance. Now, if you’re going to get involved, really, with ecology in the environment, you have to rediscover how to listen to the distance, because an awful lot of the sounds you’re talking about are distant.

Claude (in the field from afar, recorded at Adawe Crossing, Ottawa): Now, if you’re going to get involved, really, with ecology in the environment, you have to rediscover how to listen to the distance, because an awful lot of the sounds you’re talking about are distant.

I think you understand what I mean. 

With the kind permission of Eleanor James, I used excerpts from Murray’s essay as the narrative for the soundscape composition that you are about to hear. I did not use any of the field recordings from our original trip in 1997, outside of those few moments of laughter. Instead, I decided to record all new material during the winter of 2022, some 25 years later, not in Manitoba, but rather around where I live in Ontario and Québec, hence the idea of revisiting Winter Diary. However, I did use some field recordings from my archives, as well as a few excerpts from some of my previous soundscape compositions. All of those are noted in the episode script. Most of the soundscapes that you’re about to hear are natural but a few have been transformed using tools like GRM Tools and ‘spatialisers’. I was interested in exploring that liminal space between reality and fantasy. 

While recording these winter soundscapes, and it’s been a cold winter so far as you’ll hear, I kept thinking about what the Karl Szuckaprize jury said about Murray’s interest in the ‘noiselessness of silence’. I also thought about the idea of ushering the listener â€˜to a place of unhurried, patient listening’.

I tried to explore the idea of patient, unhurried listening in this piece as well as the notion of radical listening.

Before we start, I want to let you know that some recordings are very quiet, at the threshold of what you might be able to hear on speakers or headphones so don’t worry if you hear long silences or can’t make out some of the detail, especially if you are in a car or in a noisier environment. You can listen to the Winter Diary Revisited again, in high resolution.

I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to honour the memory of R. Murray Schafer and hope you enjoy this sonic illustration from his Winter Diary essay.

Script

Note: This script is drawn from R. Murray Schafer’s Winter Diary Essay, first draft, February 15, 1997 (sounds are described with their source where possible)

(door slapping and footsteps approaching the gate and mailbox at Murray’s farm in Indian River)

1. gates

Claude Schryer came by today to plan the Winter Diary radio program for the West German Radio. After dinner we walked the quarter mile out to the road. 

(walking towards the gate)

There was a powdering of light snow, making the landscape bright under the stars. I opened and closed the gate while Claude recorded it; then I went to the tin mailbox and flapped the lid – both are sounds characteristic of rural life in Canada. 

(mailbox lid and gate)

The flapping got the neighbour’s dog barking. Then, more distantly other dogs began to bark. Dogs were the original alarm systems in the countryside and remain so despite electronic technology. Could be a thief or a wolf out there. The message is telegraphed from farm to farm and behind every dark doorway a farmer cocks his gun. The dogs grew silent again as we trudged back. 

(crossfade entry of house towards fire)

Entering the warm house with a fire burning brightly in the grate, I suddenly realized that we had already discovered a valuable leitmotif for our program: the contrast between warm, populated rooms

(crossfade with quiet cedar forest)

 and the vast, cold spaces that surround them during the Canadian winter.

(wind from Murray’s farm, slow fade to silence)

2. doors

There is a painting by Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872) entitled “Merrymaking” that illustrates this drama between interior and exterior. 

(my wife Sabrina, son Riel and daughter Clara exiting our home and walking into our yard)

A party at the Jolifu Inn is breaking up and the revellers are spilling out to depart into the cold, snowy dawn.  The drama of the scene is depicted in Brueghel style, but the contrast between hot interior and cold exterior is distinctly Canadian. The same theme recurs in our best novelists, for instance in Frederick Philip Grove’s, “Over Prairie Trails” (1922) or in Sinclair Ross’s, “As for Me and My House” (1941). The contrast between interior and exterior creates the drama between society and selfhood. Marshall McLuhan summed it up epigrammatically when he said that Canadians go out to be alone and come in to be with company while elsewhere people go out to be with company and come home to be alone. 

Woman skater (family friend): If you’re really lucky to be at a cottage in the winter in the morning and they’re almost no sounds and you’ll hear a branch cracking or something…

(Quiet forest with cracking of frozen trees)

The hinge is the door. One sound characteristic of the Canadian countryside is the slap of a screen door. 

(Various door slappings from Murray’s farm and our cottage)

I’ve known it since my childhood. Of course, it is intended to keep the insects out of the house in summer but out of laziness the screen door is often left on during winter too – as mine is. The door has a coil spring attached to it so that it will slap shut quickly. Usually there is another contraption on the side with a hairpin spring to snap it firm. If it isn’t oiled, it squeaks. So, the entire sound event is actually quite complex, consisting first of a swish as the door opens, then a swoosh as it closes followed by a residual snap as the second spring is released to hold it shut. 

(More door sounds)

The subject of doors could occupy a doctoral thesis or two. Every continent and climate has its own vocabulary and rhetoric of doors as different as the languages of the people who open and close them.

(More door sounds)

3. trains

(processed L14 train whistle with GRM Evolution Tool and Dear VR Pro spatializer)

Every Canadian knows the three-toned Canadian train whistle – without knowing it. Tuned to an E-flat minor triad with a fundamental at 311 Hertz, it’s the most authoritative sound mark of the country, curiously analogous to the Yellow Bell or Huang Chung, which established the tuning for all music in the golden days of ancient China.

(Meditation bell)

The legend goes that when the tuning of the Yellow Bell was abandoned the empire would fall into ruin.

(Overpass from simplesoundscapes e167 above + train passing with gate processing)

Something like that is happening here, for today more and more train whistles are out of tune, and with the building of overpasses and tunnels urban dwellers rarely ever hear them. 

(more processed L14 train whistle)

Canadian railroads all run east-west. As the authority of the railroad vanishes the east-west axis gives way to a south-north bias, i.e., American invasion. â€¦ Eventually in the far distance we hear the L14 whistle (the signal for a level crossing, long, long, short, long,) which incidentally is also the rhythm of the opening phrase of the Canadian national anthem.

(noon siren excerpt from my 1996 composition Vancouver Soundscape Revisited)

4. hooves

(wind from Murray’s farm) 

It is warmer today then yesterday and a heavy fog lies over the snow so that the acoustic horizon surpasses the visual. Frederick Philip Grove talks about getting lost in the fog in Over Prairie Trails. Then he had to rely on the instinct of his horses.

(sound of horse hooves from Cricket in Mono, Ontario)

Note: below is a quote from Frederick Philip Grove’s Over Prairie Trails, Toronto, 1991, p.47.

‘I had become all ear. Even though my buggy was silent and though the road was coated with a thin film of soft clay-mud. I could distinctly hear by the muffled thud of the horses’ hooves on the ground that they were running over a grade.’ 

(Grade and farm sounds and return of hoove sounds)

‘That confirmed my bearings… So now I was close to the three-farm cluster. I listened intently again for the horses’ thump. Yes, there was that muffled hoof-beat again – I was on the last grade that led to the angling road across the corner of the marsh.‘ 

5. microphones

(wind from Murray’s field)

What would the Prairies be without wind? 

(Wind from Murray’s barn mixed with forest sounds in South River, Ontario)

It’s the keynote sound here, the one against which everything else is registered. But to record it? Impossible. The microphone hasn’t yet been invented to effectively record nature’s most elementary sounds: wind, rain, fire.

(thunder and rain sound from simplesoundscapes e105 thunder, fire from fireplace at our cottage)

The mistake in recording the environment is in trying to pull a huge spread of events, far and near in all directions, into a single focus. The soundscape isn’t stereophonic, its spherical. The stereophonic preoccupation in recording results from stereoscopy rather than any real understanding of the listening experience, in which one is always at the centre. 

(microphone panning ventilation system)

One would like the microphone to observe the same respect for figure-ground that our ears do, elevating those sounds we wish to receive and suppressing those we don’t.  But of course, the microphone is not an ear, and everything is registered according to its amplitude only. Could we imagine a future microphone with a discrimination circuit to allow us to reproduce the wished-for soundscape rather than the real one? Or is that merely another form of pathetic fallacy that only the romantic recordist could hope for? 

Claude (from snow pellets on dried leaves in Misikew provincial park): and here’s an example of a sound that is so delicate that the microphone picks it up better than the human ear. 

The value of the microphone is that it presents simply what is there. The tape recorder puts a frame around it, often astonishing us with the sound events our real ears have missed.

6. footsteps

Claude confesses his excitement for recording. He is almost like a fighter pilot seeking out the enemy, the elusive sound object, slating his various dives at the material we’ve targeted for a take, hoping the desired event will occur on cue, wondering whether to stalk it silently or prompt it – or forget it and seek another campaign. “So many things can go wrong,” he says excitedly. Ruefully I agree.

Note: I recorded my voice saying â€œSo many things can go wrong,”

Claude (xcountry ski sequence, December 2021): When Murray and I recorded Winter Diary in 1997, we record a lot of different winter sounds but not cross-country skiing. It is a typical sound of winter in Canada and a very rich one. You can hear me skiing now, as well as people skiing beside me. Skiing sounds have number of different elements: there’s the push and pull of the ski, the poles that hit into the snow and of course the breath of the skier. Sometimes you can hear the wind in the trees, snowmobiles a distance, dogs…

People who live by the sea know how the colour of the water changes constantly, but one has to live with a long winter to know the perpetual changes in the sound (as well as the colour) of snow. 

(various foot and snow sounds)

Even the lapse of an hour can alter it profoundly, and the experienced listener can pinpoint the temperature by the sound of his footsteps in it. On the cold nights it screeches. Sometimes a crust will build up to produce a crunchy quality. Or even several crusts, separated by layers of powdery snow, giving variations of dissonance with each step. 

(Steps on crusty snow)

7. cars

We always take the most ordinary sounds for granted. Assuming cars to be universal, we forget that they sound different in different environments. 

(bus stuck on a hill and cars passing in Ottawa)

On a country highway we recorded the approach and departure of individual cars and trucks, sometimes lasting three minutes without any other sound. 

(Passing truck near South River, On)

Where else on earth could you do that?

8. calling

Claude (Gatineau Park, Québec) : When R. Murray Schafer and I did Winter Diary, one of the sequences was called calling where we were in the forest and listening for the reverberation in a winter space and in that case, it was a forest and here I am on January 11th, 2022, in Gatineau Park. I’m going try a similar experience where I’m going to walk in a circle away from the microphone and see what that sounds like and once in a while, I’ll cry out like we did back then: Hey, and you can hear the reverberation and the movement, and it’s a way to experience a winter soundscape by interacting with it. So here we go.

(Hey sequence in forest in Gatineau QC, January 2022)

Excursion into Park. Total isolation. We realized that the only way we could give an impression of soundscape here was by making sounds ourselves, so we set up the microphone in the snow and walked away from it, calling in different directions. How far is it across the valley? What is the difference between a bare deciduous forest and a leafy evergreen one? Your voice will tell you. 

9. cracks

(rumble of car on winter road, stop and get out of vehicle, then silence)

I came out alone in the car after Claude had gone to sleep. Never had I heard the world so silent. Is it near or far, this black landscape? 

(forest cracks at Murray farm)

My own slightest movement makes it seem near. The frosted crack of a distant tree makes it vast. My breathing brings it close again.  Justin Winkler pointed out that the soundscape is essentially a static term, but here it seems dynamic, increasing to an infinite volume, then shrinking right inside me as my stomach growls. 

(simplesoundscapes e01, rumble and Guérison from Au dernier vivant les biens (1998))

I turn the ignition key and am startled and relieved at the same time. My escape.

10. heater

(gas fireplace starting + song based on texture of fireplace ‘pings’)

Strange phenomenon this morning on waking. In my dream I had been singing a solo song at some kind of gathering. I finished and everyone applauded enthusiastically.

(Sound of small crowd clapping and saying nice song Murray)

I awoke to hear the propane heater come on. So, the conclusion of my song and heater were synchronized but I stress that I had sung a rather lengthy song to its conclusion before the applause of the heater. I even remembered the song and sang it over again to myself while lying in bed.

(Gas heater and song)

Had I anticipated the end of it and paced the singing to a sound that I could somehow fore-hear? Or had the whole event occurred in the fraction of a second as the heater came on? 

11. ice

Spotting some children knocking down some icicles in Sainte Rose du Lac, we rushed over to record them but frightened them away. 

(gated kicking ice blocks and skating sounds)

So, we knocked the icicles down ourselves and then kicked them along the street. 

(more gated kicking ice blocks and skating sounds)

Each chunk had a different pitch and pieces when they broke into pieces the pitch rose. I was glad to have this other form of frozen water to add to our repertoire.

12. jet

The sun was setting. It was totally quiet. 

(begin sound of jet passing)

Eventually the whisper of a jet aircraft became audible. It crossed the sky distantly, its passage lasting eight minutes without any other sound interrupting it. A perfect sound event in an anesthetized environment. 

(end sound of jet passing and fade to gentle forest sound)

Claude: I would like to conclude Winter Diary Revisited with an excerpt from Murray’s 1977 book Music in the cold. Here are the last 11 lines:

Saplings are beginning to sprout again in the moist earth.

Beneath it animals can be heard digging their burrows.

Soon the thrush will return.

The old technology of waste is gone.

What then remains?

The old virtues: harmony; the universal soul; hard work.

I will live supersensitized, the antennae of a new race.

I will create a new mythology.

It will take time.

It will take time.

There will be time. 

*

Credits

(except from the end of my composition Eclogue for an Alpine Meadow in background)

I have many people to thank. Murray’s essay is narrated by my father-in-law, the poet, political activist and educator Robin Mathews.  In passing I invite you to listen to an episode about his work e88 robin mathews â€“ on radical listening & political poetry. 

I would like to thank Robin for his skillful narration, composer Christian Calon for his technical advice and moral support, artistic director Darren Copeland and Executive Director Nadene Thériault-Copeland of New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) for their encouragements and for hosting me as artist in residence from February 1 to February 6, 2022, at their facility in South River, Ontario. Thanks also to Eleanor James for permission to use Murray’s essay, for the photos of the farm and for our conversation and finally my wife Sabrina Mathews for her feedback, patience and support.

Winter Diary Revisited was premiered at the Deep Wireless Festival of Radio and Transmission Art on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at 7pm. 

La version française de cet épisode, Journal d’hiver revisité sera retrouve dans l’épisode 100 du balado conscient.

The post e99 winter diary revisited – homage to r. murray schafer (25′ introduction + 40′ composition + 3′ credits) appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

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This episode is a reading of my January 2022 #conscientpodcast blog about some of the high and lows of season 3 of this podcast and my interest in layering words and soundscapes that create new contexts for listening, with excerpts from episodes 65, 69, 81, 86, 96 and a preview of e99 Winter Diary Revisited. Also available as a blog: https://www.conscient.ca/conscient-podcast-blog-january-2022/

conscient podcast, episode 98. 

This episode is a reading of my conscient podcast blog for the month of January 2022.

Some might recall that I started the 3rd season of this podcast with a fictional case study:

(Teacher) Today, we’re going to do a case study today of the second season of the conscient podcast, which ran from March to August 2021. It was produced by an Ottawa based sound artist, Claude Schryer, who is passed away now, but I was very fortunate that his children, Riel and Clara, kindly helped me do some of the research for this class. I want to check if you have all had a chance to listen to the course materials, which were… conscient podcast episodes…   19 reality and 62 compilation. Were you…

(Male student, interrupting) Excuse me, but can you tell us why did you choose this podcast? Historically speaking, you know, there were other podcasts in Canada in 2021 that also explored issues of art and environment. Why this one?

(Teacher) That’s a very good question. I chose the second season of this podcast because Schryer was exploring the themes of reality and ecological grief, which were timely in 2021 and still are today. Also, because it gives us a snapshot of what artists and cultural workers were thinking about in relation to the ecological crisis.

I had fun doing that episode with my family. I presented it to a couple of university classes in the fall of 2021 and got some good feedback. For example, I appreciated this question from a student in an arts policy, equity and activism class at centennial college: 

My question is more towards the arts industry in terms of activism. I feel like there’s a really high risk for burnout and for a lack of reward in terms of the work that you do. I think a lot of the time it falls on deaf ears and so I was wondering in your experience, what support systems have been put in place to support arts activists in their journey?

You can hear my answer and more conversation about art activism in episode 86.

I will conclude season 3 with episode 99, a soundscape composition called Winter Diary Revisited, my homage to composer R. Murray Schafer, who passed away in August of 2021. The piece features excerpts from an unpublished essay that Schafer wrote after a 10-day field recording trip that we undertook in rural Manitoba in February 1997 to record a radio program about winter soundscapes for the west German radio. L’épisode 100 du balado conscient sera la version française de cette composition de paysages sonores : Journal d’hiver revisité.

After publishing episode 100, I will take a break from podcast production and think about next steps. During this time, I invite you to get caught up on topics of interest in season 3, which started with episode 65, recorded while floating on a kayak at the cottage:

… There’s a duck… you hear…. di-di-di… the wings are so beautiful … – and share the process of failure and attempts to change that didn’t work, in a very straightforward kind of way, because that’s life: where we make mistakes and stumble and learn and get excited and then look back and we observe that. So that’s what season three will begin like as like. Actually, I can’t predict what it will end like, because, well, I’m just starting ….

I did make mistakes, stumble, learn and get excited in season 3. For example, my promise to do short episodes, of doing everything in a ‘single take’ or asking all guests about radical listening. I learned and adjusted my ways as season 3 unfolded and I got better at listening, sometimes quite radically, to my guests during conversations. I was able to do most of my conversations live in Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal, which improved the sound quality of the show. 

However, some episodes did not work out as I had hoped. For example, here  is the beginning of e69 soundwalk in the dark. 

Good morning. It’s 4.56am on Wednesday September 29^th and I’m about to go for soundwalk in the dark. I wanted to share with you this experience and see what happens. 

At the time it seemed like a good idea to share my experience of improvising a soundwalk in the dark however, the result, in this case, was a lot of fun to produce but did not make for good podcast listening. In retrospect, I should have only kept the best moments from that soundwalk, like this one: 

I’m on a hill so you can feel gravity. The pull towards downwards is an interesting sensation, like dancing with the mountain. 

So, I’ll continue to experiment with new formats and uncomfortable situations in this podcast but next time I will ensure higher production values. My apologies for episode 69 and some of my other rambling monologues.

On a more positive note, one of things I realized during season 3 is my sensitivity to tone of voice. For example, episode 81 is this called inspiration and explores how ‘the tone and emotion in the voice of each person inspires and uplifts me every time I listen to it’. Here is the first minute of e81.

Art is a practice of expanding consciousness, which gives us a tremendous opportunity to explore and to embody possibility (Rebecca Mwase)

We want to awaken in order to be a service to everyone. (David Loy)

Creative cultural allegiance and how do we use that in a purposeful way is a critical question for us all. (Alison Tickell)

Comment faire en sorte de nourrir une nouvelle realité? Comment créer de l’art qui soit régénératif? Qui nourrisse quelque chose. (Anne-Catherine Lebeau)

I also came to realize during season 3 that I am deeply moved by the layering of words and soundscapes that create new contexts for listening. It’s like the spirits of the sounds are speaking to me. I can hear and feel their presence. I always have felt this but rarely talk about it because it sounds … strange and it’s hard to explain. Maybe you have had similar experiences? Feel free to let me know. Here’s an example (and a preview) from episode 99:

When Murray and I recorded Winter Diary in 1997, we recorded a lot of different winter sounds, but not cross-country skiing and it is a typical sound of winter in Canada and a very rich one. You can hear me skiing now as well as people skiing beside me. Skiing sounds have a number of different of elements: there the push and pull of the ski and the poles that hit in the snow and of course the breath of the skier and sometimes you can hear the wind in the trees: snowmobiles in the distance, dog…

See you in season 4. 

I don’t know what the theme or format of season 4 will be yet but I anticipate that it will continue to be about art and the ecological crisis. I’ll update the website and rework the format a bit. Je pense aussi séparer les balados en francais pour faciliter l’accès et la visibilité de ces épisodes. I should be back during the spring of 2022. 

One theme that interests me in future episodes is the idea of liminal space that Joan Sullivan talks about in episode 96  : 

We find ourselves in a liminal space right now and liminal space means it’s that time between what was and what’s next. That’s where we are. It’s a place of not knowing and unless all of us humans, and not just artists, recognize that we are already in a transition – not just an energy transition – but a cultural, a democratic, a social transition. There is an end. We will come out of this. No one knows how, but we will pass through. It’s inevitable and what waits on the other side is up to us to design.

See you on the other side.

Thanks for listening.

*

Cet épisode est une lecture de mon blogue #baladoconscient de janvier 2022 sur les hauts et les bas de la saison 3 de ce balado et mon intérêt pour la superposition de mots et de paysages sonores qui créent de nouveaux contextes d'écoute, avec des extraits des épisodes 65, 69, 81, 86, 96 et une avant-première du é100 journal d’hiver revisité. Également disponible en format blogue: https://www.conscient.ca/blogue-du-balado-conscient-janvier-2022/?lang=fr 

balado conscient, épisode 98. 

Cet épisode est une lecture de mon blogue du balado conscient pour le mois de janvier 2022.

Certains se souviendront peut-être que j’ai commencé la troisième saison de ce balado par une étude de cas fictive :

(Enseignant) Aujourd’hui, nous allons faire une étude de cas de la deuxième saison du podcast conscient, qui s’est déroulée de mars à août 2021. Il a été produit par un artiste sonore d’Ottawa, Claude Schryer, qui est maintenant décédé, mais j’ai eu la chance que ses enfants, Riel et Clara, m’aient gentiment aidé à faire certaines des recherches pour ce cours. Je veux vérifier si vous avez tous eu la chance d’écouter le matériel du cours, qui était… des épisodes podcast conscients… 20 réalité et 62 compilation. Avez-vous…

Excusez-moi, mais pouvez-vous nous dire pourquoi vous avez choisi ce podcast ? Historiquement parlant, vous savez, il y avait d’autres balados au Canada en 2021 qui exploraient aussi les questions d’art et d’environnement. Pourquoi celui-là ?

(Enseignant) C’est une très bonne question. J’ai choisi la deuxième saison de ce balado parce que Schryer explorait les thèmes de la réalité et du deuil écologique, qui étaient d’actualité en 2021 et le sont encore aujourd’hui. Et aussi parce qu’elle nous donne un aperçu de ce à quoi les artistes et les travailleurs culturels pensaient par rapport à la crise écologique.

Je me suis amusé à faire cet épisode avec ma famille. Je l’ai présenté à quelques classes universitaires à l’automne 2021 et j’ai eu de bons retours. Par exemple, j’ai apprécié cette question d’un étudiant d’un cours sur la politique, l’équité et l’activisme artistiques au Centennial College : 

Ma question s’adresse davantage à l’industrie artistique en termes d’activisme. J’ai l’impression qu’il y a un risque très élevé d’épuisement et de manque de récompense pour le travail que vous faites. Je pense que la plupart du temps, on tombe dans l’oreille d’un sourd et je me demandais donc, d’après votre expérience, quels systèmes de soutien ont été mis en place pour soutenir les activistes artistiques dans leur parcours ?

Vous pouvez entendre ma réponse et d’autres conversations sur l’activisme artistique dans l’épisode 86.

Je conclurai la saison 3 avec l’épisode 99, une composition de paysage sonore intitulée Winter Diary Revisited mon hommage au compositeur R. Murray Schafer, décédé en août 2021. La pièce présente des extraits d’un essai non publié que Schafer a écrit après un voyage d’enregistrement de 10 jours que nous avons entrepris dans la campagne du Manitoba en février 1997 pour enregistrer une émission de radio sur les paysages sonores hivernaux pour la radio ouest-allemande. L’épisode 100 du balado conscientsera la version française de cette composition de paysages sonores : journal d’hiver revisité.

Après la publication de l’épisode 100, je ferai une pause dans la production de podcasts et réfléchirai aux prochaines étapes. Pendant ce temps, je vous invite à vous rattraper sur les sujets d’intérêt de la saison 3, qui a commencé avec l’épisode 65 enregistré en flottant sur un kayak au chalet :

… Il y a un canard qui passe… tu entends…. di-di-di… les ailes sont si belles… – et partager le processus d’échec et les tentatives de changement qui n’ont pas fonctionné, de manière très directe, parce que c’est la vie : on fait des erreurs et on trébuche et on apprend et on s’enthousiasme, puis on regarde en arrière et on observe cela. C’est donc comme ça que la saison 3 va commencer. En fait, je ne peux pas prédire comment elle se terminera, parce que, eh bien, je ne fais que commencer …..

J’ai commis des erreurs, j’ai trébuché, j’ai appris et je me suis enthousiasmé dans la saison 3. Par exemple, ma promesse de faire des épisodes courts, de tout faire en une seule prise ou d’interroger tous les invités sur l’écoute radicale. J’ai appris et ajusté mes méthodes au fur et à mesure que la saison 3 se déroulait et j’ai appris à mieux écouter, parfois de manière radicale, mes invités pendant les conversations. J’ai pu réaliser la plupart de mes conversations en direct à Vancouver, Toronto ou Montréal, ce qui a amélioré la qualité sonore de l’émission. 

Cependant, certains épisodes ne se sont pas déroulés comme je l’avais espéré. Par exemple, voici le début du e69 soundwalk in the dark.

Bonjour. Il est 4h56 du matin, mercredi 29 septembre, et je m’apprête à faire une promenade dans le noir. Je voulais partager avec vous cette expérience et voir ce qui se passe. 

Sur le moment, cela semblait être une bonne idée de partager mon expérience d’improvisation d’une marche sonore dans l’obscurité ; cependant, le résultat, dans ce cas, était très amusant à produire mais n’a pas donné lieu à une bonne écoute de balado. Rétrospectivement, j’aurais dû ne garder que les meilleurs moments de cette marche sonore, comme celui-ci : 

Je suis sur une colline, donc vous pouvez sentir la gravité. L’attraction vers le bas est une sensation intéressante, comme danser avec la montagne. 

Je vais donc continuer à expérimenter de nouveaux formats et des situations inconfortables dans ce balado, mais la prochaine fois, je veillerai à ce que les valeurs de production soient plus élevées. Je m’excuse pour l’épisode 69 et certains de mes autres monologues un peu décousus.

Sur une note plus positive, l’une des choses que j’ai réalisées au cours de la saison 3 est ma sensibilité au ton de la voix. Par exemple, episode 81 s’intitule ‘inspiration’ et explore comment ‘le ton et l’émotion dans la voix de chaque personne m’inspirent et m’élèvent chaque fois que je l’écoute’. Voici un extrait du début de l’épisode 81 :

L’art est une pratique d’expansion de la conscience, qui nous donne une formidable opportunité d’explorer et d’incarner les possibilités (Rebecca Mwase).

Nous voulons nous éveiller afin d’être au service de tous. (David Loy)

L’allégeance culturelle créative et la façon dont nous l’utilisons de manière ciblée est une question cruciale pour nous tous. (Alison Tickell)

Comment faire en sorte de nourrir une nouvelle réalité ? Comment créer de l’art qui soit régénératif ? Qui nourrit quelque chose. (Anne-Catherine Lebeau)

J’ai également réalisé au cours de la saison 3 que je suis profondément émue par la superposition de mots et de paysages sonores qui créent de nouveaux contextes d’écoute. C’est comme si les esprits des sons me parlaient. Je peux entendre et sentir leur présence. J’ai toujours ressenti cela, mais j’en parle rarement car cela semble … étrange et difficile à expliquer. Peut-être avez-vous eu des expériences similaires ? N’hésitez pas à me le faire savoir. Voici un exemple (une avant premiere) dans l’épisode 99 :

Lorsque Murray et moi avons enregistré Winter Diary en 1997, nous avons enregistré beaucoup de sons d’hiver différents, mais pas de ski de fond et c’est un son typique de l’hiver au Canada et très riche. Vous pouvez m’entendre skier maintenant, ainsi que les gens qui skient à côté de moi. Les sons de ski ont un certain nombre d’éléments différents : il y a la poussée et la traction du ski et les bâtons qui frappent dans la neige et bien sûr le souffle du skieur et parfois vous pouvez entendre le vent dans les arbres : les motoneiges au loin, le chien…

Rendez-vous donc dans la saison 4. 

Je ne sais pas encore quel sera le thème ou le format de la saison 4, mais je pense qu’elle continuera à porter sur l’art et la crise écologique. Je vais mettre à jour le site web et retravailler un peu le format. Je pense aussi séparer les balados en français pour faciliter l’accès et la visibilité de ces épisodes. Je devrais être de retour au printemps 2022. 

Un thème qui m’intéresse pour les prochains épisodes est l’idée d’espace liminal dont parle Joan Sullivan dans l’épisode 96: 

Nous nous trouvons dans un espace liminal en ce moment et l’espace liminal signifie que c’est ce temps entre ce qui était et ce qui est à venir. C’est là que nous sommes. C’est un endroit où l’on ne sait pas, et à moins que tous les humains, et pas seulement les artistes, reconnaissent que nous sommes déjà dans une transition – pas seulement une transition énergétique – mais une transition culturelle, démocratique, sociale. Il y a une fin. Nous nous en sortirons. Personne ne sait comment, mais nous passerons à travers. C’est inévitable et ce qui nous attend de l’autre côté, c’est à nous de le concevoir.

On se voit de l’autre côté.

Merci de votre écoute.

The post e98 epilogue – perspectives on season 3 appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

Powered by WPeMatico

My #conscientpodcast conversation with indigenous artist Chantal Chagnon multidisciplinary, artist Kevin Jesuino and performance maker & educator Dr. Melanie Kloetzel of the climate art web project about decolonization, networking, mapping and growing the climate arts movement. 

This is my first episode with three guests! I was impressed when I first heard about the work of this dynamic trio through SCALE and am honoured that they took the time to speak with me on solstice day, December 21, 2021. Our conversation covered a range of issues, including decolonization and the need for artists concerned about the climate emergency to network and develop solidarity. The trio also explained their collaboration on the climate art web project, which, btw, has a deadline to hire regional curators on January 15, 2022.

Chantal Chagnon is a Cree Métis Singer, Drummer, Artist, Storyteller, Actor, Educator, Workshop Facilitator, Social Justice Advocate and Activist with roots in Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan. She shares Traditional Indigenous Songs, Stories, Culture, History, Arts, Crafts and Teachings. Chantal has presented at Conferences, Conventions, Galas, Fundraisers, Community, Social Justice Events and in Classrooms from Preschool through University. Chantal aims to entertain, engage, enlighten, educate, and inspire everyone she meets. A single mother of two boys and twin girls, she understands societal struggle firsthand. Chantal has been an activist, advocate for her community, professional performer and a staunch crusader for causes close to her heart. She is active within many social justice causes, including Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women (MMIW), Women’s Rights, and Environmental Initiatives. She regularly organizes events and shares, singing, drumming, speaking, presenting, and teaching within the community, with a focus on building allies and alliances. 

Dr. Melanie Kloetzel (MFA, PhD) is a performance maker, scholar and educator who is committed to research that spans stage, site, and screen. Kloetzel employs practice-as-research methodologies to develop events, workshops and encounters in theatre spaces, alternative venues, spaces of public assembly, and online environments. In addition to her work with TRAction, a collective of interdisciplinary artists who engage communities in art-making to address issues of climate justice, Kloetzel is also director of the dance theatre company kloetzel&co. and co-director of the performance collective ReLoCate. Kloetzel’s research focuses on performance, place, text, and characterization. Her three books, the co-edited anthology Site Dance: Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces (2009), the co-authored (Re)Positioning Site Dance: Local Acts, Global Perspectives (2019), and the co-authored Covert: A Handbook – 30 Movement Meditations for Resisting Invasion (2021), are currently available from University Press of Florida, Intellect, and Triarchy, respectively.

Kevin Jesuino is a Portuguese Canadian queer multidisciplinary artist, facilitator, teacher, arts producer and community organizer working in performance and socially engaged art. He is based in Mohkinsis of Treaty 7 territory, also known as Calgary, Canada. His work is oftentimes collaborative, site-specific, participatory, and process oriented. His practice explores the intersection of the body, society and place. His recent research explores the queer body, ecology, fragility and modes of being together. His community-embedded projects engage participants in performative actions, discussions, creative interventions, activations and other forms of organizing — positioning art & culture as a vehicle for meaningful social change.  

Links

• Chantal Chagnon
• climate art web
• Kevin Jesuino
• Melanie Kloetzel 
• TRAction

*

Ma conversation #baladoconscient avec l'artiste autochtone Chantal Chagnon, l'artiste multidisciplinaire Kevin Jesuino et la créatrice de spectacles et l’éducatrice Dr. Melanie Kloetzel, du projet web d'art climatique, sur la décolonisation, le réseautage, la cartographie et la croissance du mouvement des arts climatiques.

C’est mon premier épisode avec trois invités ! J’ai été impressionné lorsque j’ai entendu parler du travail de ce trio pour la première fois à LeSAUT et je suis honoré qu’ils aient pris le temps de me parler le jour du solstice, 21 décembre 2021. Notre conversation a porté sur un éventail de questions, notamment sur la décolonisation et la nécessité pour les artistes concernés par l’urgence climatique de se mettre en réseau et de développer la solidarité. Le trio a également expliqué leur collaboration sur le projet web d’art climatique, dont la date limite pour soumettre sa candidature comme conservateur régional est le 15 janvier 2022. 

Chantal Chagnon est une chanteuse, batteuse, artiste, conteuse, comédienne, éducatrice, animatrice d’ateliers, militante et défenseur de la justice sociale d’origine crie et métisse, originaire de la nation crie de Muskeg Lake, en Saskatchewan. Elle partage des chansons, des histoires, une culture, une histoire, des arts, de l’artisanat et des enseignements traditionnels autochtones. Chantal a fait des présentations lors de conférences, de congrès, de galas, de collectes de fonds, d’événements communautaires et de justice sociale, ainsi que dans des salles de classe, du préscolaire à l’université. Chantal vise à divertir, à engager, à éclairer, à éduquer et à inspirer tous ceux qu’elle rencontre. Mère célibataire de deux garçons et de deux jumelles, elle comprend de première main la lutte sociétale. Chantal a été une activiste, une défenseuse de sa communauté, une artiste professionnelle et une ardente militante des causes qui lui tiennent à cœur. Elle est active dans de nombreuses causes de justice sociale, notamment les femmes autochtones assassinées et disparues (MMIW), les droits des femmes et les initiatives environnementales. Elle organise régulièrement des événements et partage, chante, joue du tambour, parle, présente et enseigne au sein de la communauté, en mettant l’accent sur la création d’alliés et d’alliances. 

Dr. Melanie Kloetzel  (MFA, PhD) est une créatrice de performances, une universitaire et une éducatrice qui se consacre à la recherche sur la scène, le site et l’écran. Melanie Kloetzel utilise des méthodologies de pratique et de recherche pour développer des événements, des ateliers et des rencontres dans des espaces de théâtre, des lieux alternatifs, des espaces de rassemblement public et des environnements en ligne. En plus de son travail avec TRAction, un collectif d’artistes interdisciplinaires qui engage les communautés dans la création artistique pour aborder les questions de justice climatique, Kloetzel est également directrice de la compagnie de danse-théâtre kloetzel&co. et codirectrice du collectif de performance ReLoCate. Les recherches de Kloetzel portent sur la performance, le lieu, le texte et la caractérisation. Ses trois livres, l’anthologie Site Dance : Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces (2009), le coauteur (Re)Positioning Site Dance : Local Acts, Global Perspectives (2019), et le coauteur de Covert : A Handbook – 30 Movement Meditations for Resisting Invasion (2021), sont actuellement disponibles auprès de University Press of Florida, Intellect et Triarchy, respectivement. 

Kevin Jesuino est un artiste multidisciplinaire, un facilitateur, un enseignant, un producteur d’art et un organisateur communautaire luso-canadien qui travaille dans le domaine de la performance et de l’art socialement engagé. Il est basé dans le territoire Mohkinsis du Traité 7, également connu sous le nom de Calgary, au Canada. Son travail est souvent collaboratif, spécifique au site, participatif et orienté vers le processus. Sa pratique explore l’intersection du corps, de la société et du lieu. Ses recherches récentes explorent le corps queer, l’écologie, la fragilité et les modes d’être ensemble. Ses projets, ancrés dans la communauté, engagent les participants dans des actions performatives, des discussions, des interventions créatives, des activations et d’autres formes d’organisation – positionnant l’art et la culture comme un véhicule pour un changement social significatif. 

Liens

• Chantal Chagnon
• climate art web
• Kevin Jesuino
• Melanie Kloetzel 
• TRAction

The post e97 chantal chagnon, kevin jesuino, melanie kloetzel – climate art web appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

Powered by WPeMatico

My #conscientpodcast conversation with photographer and writer Joan Sullivan whose work is focused exclusively on climate change and the energy transition. We spoke about her roots in science, her work as a columnist for Artists and Climate Change, how we are the climate emergency and liminal space between what was and what's next.

I’ve been wanting to have Joan on the conscient podcast since season 1 but she is a very busy artist and writer, plus we wanted to record our conversation in situ on her farm near Rimouski, Québec however COVID-19 did not allow that, so we settled for a warm remote recording on December 20, 2021, which was a lot of fun. I consider Joan a kindred spirit in our respective journey into the climate emergency through art. We both believe in the power of art and are both equally terrified by what we are doing to ourselves as a species mixed with stubborn belief that ‘we will pass through this’ and that ‘what waits on the other side is up to us to design’. 

Joan is an accomplished bilingual photographer and writer who uses both documentary and abstract methodologies in her work. She also writes a monthly column about the intersection of art, artists and the energy transition for the international blog Artists and Climate Change.

On her web site https://www.joansullivanphotography.com/, she describes her life (so far) in 3 acts as per below: 

Act One 

Joan Sullivan spent her first 50 years studying/working to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS, mostly in Africa. With a master’s in public health from Harvard, she criss-crossed the continent at the height of the HIV epidemic, working for a variety of international organizations to fund community-based HIV prevention programs targeting the most vulnerable populations: women, migrants, orphans. She recognizes that it was a privilege, a gift in fact, to have been able to spend so much of her adult life in Africa. It was in Africa that Sullivan’s photography matured, thanks in part to Mike Hutchings at Reuters (Johannesburg office) who gave her her first gig as a stringer based in Botswana. Sullivan also moonlighted for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a photographer.

Act Two 

Upon returning to Canada, Joan Sullivan turned her cameras to an even greater cause: climate change. Since 2009, she has documented the construction of some of North America’s largest wind and solar farms. But the more the climate crisis worsens, the more Sullivan’s photography evolves from documentary to abstraction. Joan Sullivan is currently experimenting with intentional camera movement (ICM) as a new language to express her eco-anxiety and solastalgia about the planetary crisis and all that we have already lost. It was during the “Study of Artistic Practice”, a two-year program at the University of Quebec in Rimouski (UQAR) led by Danielle Boutet, that Joan Sullivan started working on her new series of abstract photographs entitled “Je suis fleuve” (English translation: “I am river”). Through this ongoing project, Sullivan embodies the chaos of the disappearing winter ice on the Saint Lawrence River. Since 2020, these “beautiful images filled with dread” (according to a review by Danielle Legentil, 2020) have been exhibited extensively in Quebec’s Lower Saint Lawrence region, including the Jardins de Métis, the Centre d’art de Kamouraska, and most recently the Centre d’artistes Caravansérail in Rimouski. 

Act Three 

The next chapter in Joan Sullivan’s evolving artistic practice is audio. She is currently experimenting with underwater recordings of melting ice, which for Sullivan evoke the cry of the belugas. Her next project will be a marriage of moving images and audio recordings in order to create a series of sensory and embodied multidisciplinary installations. Her first installation is planned for early 2023. But first, she has been invited to a winter residency along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, at the famous Jardins de Métis in eastern Quebec.

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Ma conversation #baladoconscient avec la photographe et écrivain Joan Sullivan dont le travail est exclusivement axé sur le changement climatique et la transition énergétique. Nous avons parlé de ses racines dans la science, de son travail en tant que chroniqueuse pour Artists and Climate Change, de l'urgence climatique et de l'espace liminal entre ce qui était et ce qui est à venir.

J’avais envie d’inviter Joan sur le balado conscient depuis la saison 1, mais elle est une artiste et une écrivaine très occupée. De plus, nous voulions enregistrer notre conversation sur place, dans sa ferme près de Rimouski, Québec, mais le COVID-19 ne le permettait pas, alors nous nous sommes contentés d’un enregistrement à distance le 20 décembre 2021, ce qui était très amusant. Je considère Joan comme une âme sÅ“ur dans notre voyage respectif dans l’urgence climatique à travers l’art. Nous croyons toutes les deux au pouvoir de l’art et sommes toutes les deux également terrifiées par ce que nous nous faisons subir en tant qu’espèce, tout en étant obstinément convaincues que “nous passerons par-là” et que “ce qui nous attend de l’autre côté, c’est à nous de le concevoir”. 

Joan est une photographe et une écrivaine bilingue accomplie qui utilise à la fois des méthodologies documentaires et abstraites dans son travail. Elle rédige également une chronique mensuelle sur l’intersection entre l’art, les artistes et la transition énergétique pour le blog international Artists and Climate Change. 

Sur son site web https://www.joansullivanphotography.com/, elle décrit sa vie (jusqu’à présent) en trois actes, comme indiqué ci-dessous :

Premier acte 

Joan Sullivan a passé ses 50 premières années à étudier et à travailler pour arrêter la propagation du VIH/sida, principalement en Afrique. Titulaire d’une maîtrise en santé publique de Harvard, elle a sillonné le continent au plus fort de l’épidémie de VIH, travaillant pour diverses organisations internationales afin de financer des programmes communautaires de prévention du VIH ciblant les populations les plus vulnérables : femmes, migrants, orphelins. Elle reconnaît que c’est un privilège, un cadeau en fait, d’avoir pu passer une si grande partie de sa vie d’adulte en Afrique. C’est en Afrique que la photographie de Sullivan a mûri, en partie grâce à Mike Hutchings de Reuters (bureau de Johannesburg) qui lui a donné son premier emploi de pigiste au Botswana. Sullivan a également travaillé au noir comme photographe pour la Fondation Bill et Melinda Gates. 

Deuxième acte 

À son retour au Canada, Joan Sullivan a orienté ses appareils photo vers une cause encore plus importante : le changement climatique. Depuis 2009, elle a documenté la construction de certains des plus grands parcs éoliens et solaires d’Amérique du Nord. Mais plus la crise climatique s’aggrave, plus la photographie de Joan Sullivan évolue du documentaire vers l’abstraction. Joan Sullivan expérimente actuellement le mouvement intentionnel de la caméra (ICM) comme un nouveau langage pour exprimer son éco-anxiété et sa solastalgie face à la crise planétaire et à tout ce que nous avons déjà perdu. C’est dans le cadre de l’Ӄtude de la pratique artistique”, un programme de deux ans à l’Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) dirigé par Danielle Boutet, que Joan Sullivan a commencé à travailler sur sa nouvelle série de photographies abstraites intitulée “Je suis fleuve”. À travers ce projet en cours, Sullivan incarne le chaos de la disparition de la glace hivernale sur le fleuve Saint-Laurent. Depuis 2020, ces ” belles images remplies d’effroi ” (selon une critique de Danielle Legentil, 2020) ont été largement exposées dans la région du Bas-Saint-Laurent au Québec, notamment aux Jardins de Métis, au Centre d’art de Kamouraska, et plus récemment au Centre d’artistes Caravansérail à Rimouski. 

Troisième acte 

Le prochain chapitre de la pratique artistique évolutive de Joan Sullivan est l’audio. Elle expérimente actuellement des enregistrements sous-marins de la fonte des glaces, qui évoquent pour elle le cri des bélugas. Son prochain projet sera un mariage d’images en mouvement et d’enregistrements audio afin de créer une série d’installations multidisciplinaires sensorielles et corporelles. Sa première installation est prévue pour le début de 2023. Mais avant cela, elle a été invitée à une résidence d’hiver sur les rives du fleuve Saint-Laurent, aux célèbres Jardins de Métis, dans l’est du Québec.

The post e96 joan sullivan – the liminal space between what was and what’s next appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

Powered by WPeMatico

My #conscientpodcast conversation with Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) Executive Director Charles C. Smith and Program Manager Kevin A. Ormsby on Dec 10, 2021 about the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal. 1 of 6 episodes recorded at this event.

I was honoured when Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO) Program Manager Kevin A. Ormsby asked me to moderate a panel on National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change at the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal in Toronto on December 10, 2021. 

Later on that day, I caught up with CPAMO Executive Director Charles C. Smith and Kevin to talk about their aspirations for the gathering and the state of IBPOC arts communities. This episode also includes excerpts from their keynote presentation earlier that day about the Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts publication. 

Program Manager of Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Kevin A. Ormsby is also the Artistic Director of KasheDance, movement coach and Arts Marketing Consultant. The Ontario Arts Council’s Chalmers Fellowship recipient (2017), KM Hunter Dance Award Nominee (2016), Toronto Arts Council’s Cultural Leaders Lab Fellow (2015) and The Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch – Staunton Award 2014 recipient for outstanding achievement by a mid-career artist, he has many interests in the creative practice and administration in dance. He has honed his passion for dance, advocacy, writing and education while performing with various companies and projects in Canada, the Caribbean and the United States.

charles c. smith is a poet, playwright and essayist who has written and edited twelve books. He studied poetry and drama with William Packard, editor of the New York Quarterly Magazine, at New York University and Herbert Berghof Studios. He also studied drama at the Frank Silvera’s Writers’ Workshop in Harlem. He won second prize for his play Last Days for the Desperate from Black Theatre Canada, has edited three collections of poetry (including the works of Dionne Brand, Marlene Nourbese Phillips, Claire Harris, Cyril Dabydeen, Lillian Allen, George Elliot Clarke, Clifton Joseph), has four published books of poetry and his poetry has appeared in numerous journals and magazines, including Poetry Canada Review, the Quille and Quire, Descant, Dandelion, Fiddlehead, Anti-Racism in Education: Missing in Action (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives), the Amethyst Review, Bywords, Canadian Ethnic Studies and others.

This is one of 6 episodes recorded during the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal event from December 8 to 10, 2021 in Toronto.

The others are:

• episode 90, my conversation with dance artist, choreographer, director and embodiment facilitator Shannon Litzenberger and reading her State of Emergence: Why We Need Artists Right Now essay
• episode 91, my conversation with Keith Barker, artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, including a reading of his new 5 minute Climate Change Theatre Action play, Apology, My at the end of this episode
• episode 92, a presentation (including audience questions) by Santee Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 93, a presentation (including audience questions) by Anthony Garoufalis-Auger from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 94, a presentation (including audience questions) by Devon Hardy from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel

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Ma conversation #conscientpodcast avec Charles C. Smith, directeur exécutif de Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), et Kevin A. Ormsby, le directeur de programme, le 10 décembre 2021, au sujet du festival et de la conférence multi-arts Gathering Divergence Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing : L'importance des arts IBPOC dans le renouveau planétaire. 1 des 6 épisodes enregistrés lors de cet événement. 

J’ai été honoré lorsque le directeur du programme Pluralisme culturel dans le mouvement des arts de l’Ontario (CPAMO), Kevin A. Ormsby, m’a invité à animer un panel sur la politique culturelle nationale et les arts en réponse au changement climatique lors du Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal Ã  Toronto le 10 décembre 2021. 

Plus tard cette journée, j’ai rencontré Charles C. Smith, directeur général du CPAMO, et Kevin pour parler de leurs aspirations pour le rassemblement et de l’état des communautés artistiques IBPOC. Cet épisode comprend également des extraits de leur présentation principale, faite plus tôt dans la journée, sur le livre Living in the Skin I am In : Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts. 

Gestionnaire du programme Cultural Pluralism in the Arts Movement Ontario (CPAMO), Kevin A. Ormsby est également directeur artistique de KasheDance, entraîneur de mouvement et consultant en marketing artistique. Lauréat de la bourse Chalmers du Conseil des arts de l’Ontario (2017), candidat au prix de danse KM Hunter (2016), boursier du Cultural Leaders Lab du Conseil des arts de Toronto (2015) et lauréat du prix Victor Martyn Lynch – Staunton 2014 du Conseil des arts du Canada pour la réalisation exceptionnelle d’un artiste à mi-carrière, il s’intéresse de près à la pratique créative et à l’administration de la danse. Il a affiné sa passion pour la danse, la défense des intérêts, l’écriture et l’éducation tout en se produisant avec diverses compagnies et projets au Canada, dans les Caraïbes et aux États-Unis.

charles c. smith est un poète, dramaturge et essayiste qui a écrit et édité douze livres. Il a étudié la poésie et le théâtre avec William Packard, rédacteur en chef du New York Quarterly Magazine, à l’Université de New York et aux Studios Herbert Berghof. Il a également étudié le théâtre au Frank Silvera’s Writers’ Workshop à Harlem. Il a remporté le deuxième prix pour sa pièce Last Days for the Desperate du Black Theatre Canada, a édité trois recueils de poésie (dont les œuvres de Dionne Brand, Marlene Nourbese Phillips, Claire Harris, Cyril Dabydeen, Lillian Allen, George Elliot Clarke, Clifton Joseph), a publié quatre recueils de poésie et sa poésie a été publiée dans de nombreuses revues et magazines, dont Poetry Canada Review, the Quille and Quire, Descant, Dandelion, Fiddlehead, Anti-Racism in Education : Missing in Action (Centre canadien de politiques alternatives), la Amethyst Review, Bywords, Canadian Ethnic Studies et autres.

Ceci est 1 des 6 épisodes enregistrés lors du festival et de la Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal du 8 au 10 décembre 2021 à Toronto.

• épisode 90 est une conversation avec l’artiste de la danse, chorégraphe, metteur en scène et facilitatrice d’incarnation Shannon Litzenberger et une présentation de son essai State of Emergence : Pourquoi nous avons besoin d’artistes maintenant
• épisode 91, ma conversation avec Keith Barker, directeur artistique de Native Earth Performing Arts, y compris une lecture de sa nouvelle pièce de théâtre d’action sur le changement climatique de 5 minutes, APOLOGY, MY à la fin de cet épisode.
• épisode 92, une présentation (avec questions du public) par Santee Smith, directrice artistique du Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change
• épisode 93 est une présentation (avec questions du public) par Anthony Garoufalis-Auger à la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change.
• épisode 94 est une présentation (avec questions du public) par Devon Hardy à la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change.

The post e95 charles smith & kevin ormsby – IBPOC arts in planetary renewal appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

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My #conscientpodcast conversation with scientist and project manager of the Creative Green Tools Adaptation project, Devon Hardy, on December 10, 2021, at a CPAMO panel about art and climate and walking the back alleys in Montreal on December 16, where Devon talks about the importance of measurement tools for the arts sector in the climate emergency.

I first met Devon when she was working freelance doing environmental assessment for theatre companies in Montreal. I was impressed by her commitment to both the arts and the sciences. Since then, we have had many conversations with Devon about her work with Creative Green tools adaptation project and the importance of measurement tools for the arts sector in the climate emergency. I wanted to share this knowledge with listeners, so I went for a walk with Devon in December 16^th 2021 and combined this conversation with her presentation at the CPAMO National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel on December 10. At the very end of the episode, you hear my phone ring. It was my daughter telling me about a Covid outbreak of the Omicron variant in her university. A sign of the times… 

Devon’s educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and a master’s degree in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). For the last several years, she has been working to combine her technical knowledge of environmental sciences and impact measurement with her involvement in the arts community by collaborating on various sustainability initiatives in partnership with Ecosceno, the St-Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival, the Quebec Drama Federation, the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts and Climatable, among others. She is currently manager of the Creative Green project. 

This is one of 6 episodes recorded during the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal event from December 8 to 10, 2021 in Toronto.

The others are:

• episode 90, my conversation with dance artist, choreographer, director and embodiment facilitator Shannon Litzenberger and reading her State of Emergence: Why We Need Artists Right Now essay
• episode 91, my conversation with Keith Barker, artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, including a reading of his new 5 minute Climate Change Theatre Action play, Apology, My at the end of this episode
• episode 92, a presentation (including audience questions) by Santee Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 93, a presentation (including audience questions) by Anthony Garoufalis-Auger from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 95, my conversation with CPAMO Executive Director Charles Smithand artistic programmer Kevin Ormsby from a keynote address including excerpts from their conversation about the Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts publication  

*

J’ai rencontré Devon pour la première fois alors qu’elle travaillait à la pige à l’évaluation environnementale de compagnies de théâtre à Montréal. J’ai été impressionné par son engagement envers les arts et les sciences. Depuis, nous avons eu de nombreuses conversations avec Devon sur son travail avec le projet des outils d’adaptation Creative Green et sur l’importance des outils de mesure pour le secteur artistique dans l’urgence climatique. Je voulais partager ces connaissances avec les auditeurs. J’ai donc fait une promenade avec Devon le 16 décembre 2021 et j’ai combiné cette conversation avec sa présentation lors du panel de CPAMO National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Changele 10 décembre. À la toute fin de l’épisode, vous entendez mon téléphone sonner. C’était ma fille qui me parlait d’une épidémie de Covid de la variante Omicron dans son université. Un signe des temps… 

Devon est titulaire d’une licence en sciences de l’environnement et d’une maîtrise en gestion intégrée des ressources en eau (GIRE). Depuis plusieurs années, elle s’efforce de combiner ses connaissances techniques en sciences de l’environnement et en mesure d’impact avec son engagement dans la communauté artistique en collaborant à diverses initiatives de durabilité en partenariat avec Ecosceno, le Festival FRINGE de Montréal St-Ambroise, la Quebec Drama Federation, le Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts et Climatable, entre autres. Elle est actuellement gestionnaire du projet Creative Green. 

Ceci est 1 des 6 épisodes enregistrés lors du festival et de la Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal du 8 au 10 décembre 2021 à Toronto.

• épisode 90 est une conversation avec l’artiste de la danse, chorégraphe, metteur en scène et facilitatrice d’incarnation Shannon Litzenberger et une présentation de son essai State of Emergence : Pourquoi nous avons besoin d’artistes maintenant
• épisode 91, ma conversation avec Keith Barker, directeur artistique de Native Earth Performing Arts, y compris une lecture de sa nouvelle pièce de théâtre d’action sur le changement climatique de 5 minutes, APOLOGY, MY à la fin de cet épisode.
• épisode 92, une présentation (avec questions du public) par Santee Smith, directrice artistique du Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, a la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change
• épisode 93 est une présentation (avec questions du public) par Anthony Garoufalis-Auger Ã  la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change.
• épisode 95 est ma conversation avec Charles Smith, directeur général du CPAMO, et Kevin Ormsby, programmateur artistique, lors de leur présentation ‘keynote’, y compris des extraits de leur exposé sur le projet Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts (Apprentissages expérientiels, approches et considérations concernant la lutte contre le racisme noir dans les arts). 

The post e94 devon hardy – data is a powerful thing appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

Powered by WPeMatico

My #conscientpodcast conversation with indigenous multidisciplinary artist Santee Smith, artistic director of Kaha:wi Dance Theatre on Dec 10, 2021 in Tkaronto at a CPAMO panel about art and climate where Santee talks her new post-apocalyptic work in progress ‘SKéN:NEN’, ecological calendars, permaculture and more.  

Santee Smith (Tekaronhiáhkhwa/Picking Up The Sky) is a multidisciplinary artist from the Kahnyen’kehàka Nation, Turtle Clan, Six Nations of the Grand River. Transformation, energetic exchange and creating mind-heart connections through performance is her lifelong work. Santee trained at Canada’s National Ballet School; holds Physical Education and Psychology degrees from McMaster University and a M.A. in Dance from York University. Premiering her first production Kaha:wi – a family creation story in 2004, one year later she founded Kaha:wi Dance Theatre which has grown into an internationally renowned company. Santee approaches her life and work in a sacred manner and the importance of sharing our gifts with others. Through her Onkwehonwe’neha creative process, Santee’s work speaks to identity and humanity, role and responsibility of artists in community. She is a sought-after teacher and speaker on the performing arts, Indigenous performance and culture. Smith is the 19th Chancellor of McMaster University.

I’ve known Santee over the years as a great dance artist, an exceptional leader and tireless advocate for indigenous arts and culture. I had the honour of moderating the CPAMO National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel on December 10, 2021 (along with Anthony Garoufalis-Auger, episode 93 and Devon Hardy, episode 94).

Santee spoke of her creative work in and around environmental issues, notably her new post-apocalyptic work in progress, SKéN:NEN and answered questions from the audience, including her use of ecological calendars and interest in permaculture. I would have liked to have a follow up conversation with Santee to enrich this episode, but this not possible at this time and will be for another day. For now, I invite you to listen in to this insightful presentation by Santee. Unfortunately, the audio quality is not optimal (recorded on a laptop via Zoom). Please note that there is a short passage at 8 minutes where Santee introduces herself that has some distortion that is resolved at 8 minutes 35 seconds. Please see the bio above for this missing information. 

This is one of 6 episodes recorded during the Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal event from December 8 to 10, 2021 in Toronto.

The others are:

• episode 90, a conversation with dance artist, choreographer, director and embodiment facilitator Shannon Litzenberger and reading her State of Emergence: Why We Need Artists Right Now essay
• episode 91, my conversation with Keith Barker, artistic director of Native Earth Performing Arts, including a reading of his new 5 minute Climate Change Theatre Action play, Apology, My at the end of this episode
• episode 93, a presentation (including audience questions) by Anthony Garoufalis-Auger from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 94, a presentation (including audience questions) by Devon Hardy from the National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change panel
• episode 95, my conversation with CPAMO Executive Director Charles Smith and artistic programmer Kevin Ormsby from a keynote address including excerpts from their conversation about the Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts publication  

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Roxanne Swentzell, Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute
• Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute – Patterns (video)
• Inviting the land to shape us, by kahawidance (video)

*

Ma conversation #conscientpodcast avec l'artiste multidisciplinaire autochtone Santee Smith, directrice artistique du Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, le 10 décembre 2021 à Tkaronto, lors d'une table ronde de la CPAMO sur l'art et le climat. Santee y a parlé de sa nouvelle œuvre post-apocalyptique en cours, "SKéN:NEN", des calendriers écologiques, de la permaculture, etc

Santee Smith (Tekaronhiáhkhwa/Picking Up The Sky) est une artiste multidisciplinaire de la nation Kahnyen’kehàka, du clan de la Tortue, des Six Nations de la rivière Grand. La transformation, l’échange d’énergie et la création de liens entre l’esprit et le cÅ“ur par le biais de la performance sont le travail de toute une vie. Santee a été formée à l’École nationale de ballet du Canada ; elle détient des diplômes en éducation physique et en psychologie de l’Université McMaster et une maîtrise en danse de l’Université York. Elle a présenté sa première production, Kaha:wi – a family creation story, en 2004. Un an plus tard, elle a fondé le Kaha:wi Dance Theatre, qui est devenu une compagnie de renommée internationale. Santee aborde sa vie et son travail de manière sacrée et souligne l’importance de partager nos dons avec les autres. À travers son processus créatif Onkwehonwe’neha, le travail de Santee parle d’identité et d’humanité, de rôle et de responsabilité des artistes dans la communauté. Elle est une enseignante et une conférencière recherchée dans le domaine des arts de la scène, de la performance et de la culture indigènes. Santee Smith est la 19e chancelière de l’Université McMaster.

J’ai connu Santee au fil des ans comme une grande artiste de la danse, un leader exceptionnel et un défenseur infatigable des arts et de la culture autochtones. J’ai eu l’honneur de modérer le panel de CPAMO sur la politique culturelle nationale et les arts en réponse au changement climatique le 10 décembre 2021 (avec Anthony Garoufalis-Auger, épisode 93 et Devon Hardy, épisode 94).

Santee a parlé de son travail créatif sur et autour des questions environnementales, notamment de sa nouvelle œuvre post-apocalyptique en cours, SKéN:NEN, et a répondu aux questions du public, notamment sur son utilisation des calendriers écologiques et son intérêt pour la permaculture. J’aurais aimé avoir une conversation de suivi avec Santee pour enrichir cet épisode, mais ce n’est pas possible pour le moment et ce sera pour un autre jour. Pour l’instant, je vous invite à écouter cette présentation perspicace de Santee. Malheureusement, la qualité audio n’est pas optimale (enregistrée sur un ordinateur portable via Zoom). Veuillez noter qu’il y a un court passage à 8 minutes où Santee se présente qui a une certaine distorsion qui est résolue à 8 minutes 35 secondes. Veuillez consulter la bio ci-dessus pour cette information manquante. 

Ceci est l’un des 6 épisodes enregistrés lors du festival et de la Gathering Divergence Multi-Arts Festival & Conference Fall 2021 | Art in the Time of Healing: The Importance of IBPOC Arts in Planetary Renewal du 8 au 10 décembre 2021 à Toronto.

• épisode 90 est une conversation avec l’artiste de la danse, chorégraphe, metteur en scène et facilitatrice d’incarnation Shannon Litzenberger et une présentation de son essai State of Emergence : Pourquoi nous avons besoin d’artistes maintenant
• épisode 91, ma conversation avec Keith Barker, directeur artistique de Native Earth Performing Arts, y compris une lecture de sa nouvelle pièce de théâtre d’action sur le changement climatique de 5 minutes, APOLOGY, MY à la fin de cet épisode.
• épisode 93 est une présentation (avec des questions du public) par Anthony Garoufalis-Auger à la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change.
• épisode 94 est une présentation (avec questions du public) par Devon Hardy à la table ronde National Cultural Policy and arts in Response to Climate Change.
• épisode 95 est ma conversation avec Charles Smith, directeur général du CPAMO, et Kevin Ormsby, programmateur artistique, lors de leur présentation ‘keynote’, y compris des extraits de leur exposé sur le projet Living in the Skin I am In: Experiential Learnings, Approaches and Considerations Towards Anti-Black Racism in the Arts (Apprentissages expérientiels, approches et considérations concernant la lutte contre le racisme noir dans les arts). 

Liens mentionnés dans cet épisode :

• Roxanne Swentzell, Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute
• Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute – Patterns (video)
• Inviting the land to shape us, by kahawidance (video)

The post e92 santee smith – about SKéN:NEN and interconnectedness appeared first on conscient podcast / balado conscient. conscient is a bilingual blog and podcast (French or English) by audio artist Claude Schryer that explores how arts and culture contribute to environmental awareness and action.

———-

About the Concient Podcast from Claude Schryer

The conscient podcast / balado conscient is a series of conversations about art, conscience and the ecological crisis. This podcast is bilingual (in either English or French). The language of the guest determines the language of the podcast. Episode notes are translated but not individual interviews.

I started the conscient project in 2020 as a personal learning journey and knowledge sharing exercise. It has been rewarding, and sometimes surprising.

The term ‘conscient’ is defined as ‘being aware of one’s surroundings, thoughts and motivations’. My touchstone for the podcast is episode 1, e01 terrified, based on an essay I wrote in May 2019, where I share my anxiety about the climate crisis and my belief that arts and culture can play a critical role in raising public awareness about environmental issues. The conscient podcast / balado conscient follows up on my http://simplesoundscapes.ca (2016–2019) project: 175, 3-minute audio and video field recordings that explore mindful listening.

Season 1 (May to October 2020) explored how the arts contribute to environmental awareness and action. I produced 3 episodes in French and 15 in English. The episodes cover a wide range of content, including activism, impact measurement, gaming, arts funding, cross-sectoral collaborations, social justice, artistic practices, etc. Episodes 8 to 17 were recorded while I was at the Creative Climate Leadership USA course in Arizona in March 2020 (led by Julie’s Bicycle). Episode 18 is a compilation of highlights from these conversations.

Season 2 (March 2021 – ) explores the concept of reality and is about accepting reality, working through ecological grief and charting a path forward. The first episode of season 2 (e19 reality) mixes quotations from 28 authors with field recordings from simplesoundscapes and from my 1998 soundscape composition, Au dernier vivant les biens. One of my findings from this episode is that ‘I now see, and more importantly, I now feel in my bones, ‘the state of things as they actually exist’, without social filters or unsustainable stories blocking the way’. e19 reality touches upon 7 topics: our perception of reality, the possibility of human extinction, ecological anxiety and ecological grief, hope, arts, storytelling and the wisdom of indigenous cultures. The rest of season 2 features interviews with thought leaders about their responses and reactions to e19 reality.

my professional services

I’ve been retired from the Canada Council for the Arts since September 15, 2020 where I served as a senior strategic advisor in arts granting (2016-2020) and manager of the Inter-Arts Office (1999-2015). My focus in (quasi) retirement is environmental issues within my area of expertise in arts and culture, in particular in acoustic ecology. I’m open to become involved in projects that align with my values and that move forward environmental concerns. Feel free to email me for a conversation : claude@conscient.ca

acknowledgement of eco-responsibility

I acknowledge that the production of the conscient podcast / balado conscient produces carbon. I try to minimize this carbon footprint by being as efficient as possible, including using GreenGeeks as my web server and acquiring carbon offsets for my equipment and travel activities from BullFrog Power and Less.

a word about privilege and bias

While recording episode 19 ‘reality’, I heard elements of ‘privilege’ in my voice that I had not noticed before. It sounded a bit like ‘ecological mansplaining’. I realize that, in spite of good intentions, I need to work my way through issues of privilege (of all kinds) and unconscious bias the way I did through ecological anxiety and grief during the fall of 2020. My re-education is ongoing.

Go to conscient.ca

Powered by WPeMatico