Join artist, composer and performer Anne Bourne in a series of guided listening and sound-making exercises, designed for musicians and non-musicians alike. Drawing from Oliveros’ (1932-2016) text scores, these two workshops will introduce us to a mindful way of listening within creative spaces. Oliveros’ text scores are noted for their emphasis on meditation, sonic exploration and active listening, leading participants to consider the rather timely question of the difference between listening, and hearing.
As we all gradually return to our “new normal,” these workshops offer us a chance to consider, meaningfully, what it means to once again occupy and reside within creative spaces. These two workshops offer a guided, creative experience of sound and listening, while being situated within an immersive contemporary art environment; the first floor of MOCA features six new works by five artists, all exhibiting as part of the Greater Toronto Art 21 exhibition.
As a community-situated practice, Oliveros’ scores are designed to be accessible and inclusive to all, inviting listening and sounding through simple parameters. In addition to seated and guided sound meditations and exercises, the workshop will include an extreme slow walk through the resonant industrial architecture and installations of MOCA on the first floor. This meditative extreme slow walk encourages participants to mindfully and actively reflect on their relationship to space, sound, people, and creative practice during this period of collective, social reemergence.
From the artist:
“…the stimulation of the neurobiology of listening through Taoist QiGong practice and meridian flow; behind protective masks, humming intimately the resonance of the body; a microtonal palette of vowels for slow breath song; a memory of sounds from footprints on a landscape.
Can you imagine the sound of all the rivers you have stood beside, stepped into?”
Pre-registration is required to attend this event. To reserve space, pre-register online. Due to limited capacity, we will oversell the number of available spots. To ensure access to the program, please plan to arrive at least 15-mins prior to the programme start time. The programme will run on a first-come first-serve basis.
Masks must be worn at all times within the building and throughout the programme. Social distancing will also be enforced and proof of vaccination will be required to participate in the programme.
About the Artist
Anne Bourne is a composer, improviser, artist and mentor. Seasoned in intermedia performance, songwriting and recording, Bourne explores the geopoetics of shorelines to create emergent streams of cello and voice. Mentored by composer Pauline Oliveros, she is one of the first deep listening® teaching certificate holders, imparting the practice through initiatives like the Sounding Difference collective co-founded with David Dacks, the Acts of Listening Lab at Concordia University and as faculty for the Collective Composition Lab at Banff Centre for Art and Creativity. Bourne teaches internationally and frequently collaborates with artists around the world, including Kimberly deJong, Philippe Léonard, Silvia Tarozzi, IONE, Kara-Lis Coverdale, Dubmorphology UK and tUkU Matthews. A Chalmers Fellow (2019-2022), Bourne has participated in numerous festivals and residencies such as Killowatt Bologna 2019 and MMM_MM Geneva 2020. Most recently, her audio visual work, Grass premiered at IF2021.