Organic Matters Sound Workshop
19 May, A.MAL Projects for Harvest Festival Marrakech presents Listening to Organic Matter II, Collective Sound Making Workshop with Saad Elbaraka of Studio Noujoum la Gironde and Jessica El Mal, 11am to 1pm
This event is free but registration is encouraged via Eventbrite.
Event will be in English and Arabic
Saad Elbaraka is a sound artist, performer, writer and multi-genre music producer. Born and raised in Casablanca, the city has greatly influenced his practice. Using analogue machines such as synthesisers, tape recorders and drum machines that he found in «Jotia » aka thrift markets which he restores, his approach is a contribution to an ecology of reducing and reusing waste.
After an introduction to some sound theory, Jessica will lead the participants in a sensory activity to collect sounds of natural objects in the area. This could be the sound of rocks impacting on the ground, or the sound of the wind going through trees for example, and due to the location of the gardens in the city, participants will be encouraged to consider how human and non-human materials interact.
Coming back together, the group will be guided by Saad in a discussion about the sound identity and characteristics of every recorded piece. We will visit the sites participants make their sound recordings in and reflect on the sound as a material gesture.
In the previous Organic Matters workshop the collected sounds were made into a piece that takes the form of an ambient sound poetry, containing the feeling of each participant and their perception of the natural landscape around them. As this workshop takes place outside we wont have the full capacity to explore this but Saad will give us a brief overview of how he himself constructs this and the varied possible outcomes that could be played with to create a collective sound piece.
This event is part of an ongoing collaboration between A.MAL Projects and Harvest Festival Marrakech, aiming to create opportunities for research and networks of knowledge sharing centered around questions of ecology in Morocco.
Studio Noujoum la Gironde is an experimentation initiative that questions the definitions of aesthetics through exploring the limits of contemporary vision and social challenges in Morocco but also the capacity of art to intervene as a transformative vector of society. Born from the common vision and passion for culture, society and art, SNLG aims to share and promote its creative activity and collaborative projects that enhance different forms of expression in a multimedia approach.
A.MAL Projects is an art and research initiative exploring ecology, migration and globalization through speculative art and research projects. Casting a critical eye on past and present global issues while seeking to harness human connection and creativity to imagine a better, more hopeful future by creating opportunities for collaboration and experimentation through paid artist residencies, workshops and talks, and touring exhibitions across Europe/North Africa. We bring emerging and mid-career artists and creatives from Europe, North Africa and the diaspora, to engage in reciprocal learning and experience sharing.