Reel 2 Real - The future of museum sound

The future of sound in museums

PRM Torchlit TrailsThe use and study of recordings has proliferated in the last few decades, and increasing demand for access to ethnographic recordings continues to arrive from a diverse range of audiences including researchers, sound artists and source communities. However, sound curators acknowledge that recordings can be difficult to work with. 'Reel to Real' brought together a range of expert sound curators, sound engineers, sound artists and museum professionals with the aim of establishing a 'sound in museums' network and to think through, and act on, ideas for the future delivery of sound online, in gallery spaces and further afield.

In December 2012 the Pitt Rivers Museum organised and hosted two workshops. On 7th December we sent out an open invitation to sound curators, museum professionals, and musicologists to attend our 'Sound in Museums' workshop. The aim was to think through some of the problems and possibilities associated with the delivery of sound in museum galleries, online and beyond.

On December 17th, together with the Oxford eResearch Centre, we hosted another workshop entitled 'Designs for the Delivery of Ethnographic Sound'. We invited a small group of experts in sound engineering, sound art, anthropology, website design, Digital Humanities, audience engagement and sound archiving to think through innovative ways to work with, and deliver, ethnographic sound to diverse audiences.

The playlist below includes summaries of discussions at these two workshops:

Tracks 1-4 relate to our first workshop - 'Sound in Museums' - hosted by the Pitt Rivers Museum on 7th December 2012. Included here are summaries of discussions about key themes, including: delivering ethnographic sound in galleries, online and beyond, integrating sound with other collections, organising data, how sound modifies experience, and building a legacy for sound in museums.

A full record of the day's proceedings is here:

http://soundcloud.com/pittriversound-1/sets/sound-in-museums-at-the-prm-07

Tracks 5-8 relate to our second workshop - 'Designs for the Delivery of Ethnographic Sound' - hosted by the Pitt Rivers Museum and the Oxford eResearch Centre on 17th December 2012. Included here are summaries of discussions about key themes, including: digital access and analysis, audiences and public engagement, soundscapes and audio engineering, and the repatriation of sounds to source communities.

A full record of the day's event is here:

http://soundcloud.com/pittriversound-1/sets/delivering-ethnographic-sound

The playlist also includes a discussion of the future of digitisation by sound engineer Geoff Bridges from Profile Video (Oxford).

Sound at the Museum

Sound Galleries

Musical torchlit trails at the Pitt Rivers Museum

On Friday November 23rd 2012, the galleries of the Pitt Rivers Museum were plunged into evening darkness and bathed in Bayaka music and sound from the Central African Republic. Visitors were given torches to explore the galleries that were transformed into a rich forest soundscape with sung fables, snatches of laughter, beautiful variations on harps and flutes, and the stunning polyphonic singing of Bayaka women. Hidden surprises included mini projections from the rainforests and a visualiser designed by Nathaniel Mann, the PRM's Embedded Composer in Residence. The evening was filmed By Mike Day of Intrepid Cinema as part of the Reel to Real project, and complemented the Oxford City-wide Christmas Light Night organised by Oxford Inspires. A four hour playlist of Bayaka music from the PRM's sound collections, originally recorded by Louis Sarno, was curated on the evening by Nathaniel Mann and Dr Noel Lobley. The event was streamed online, and was watched live in the Central African Republic by Louis Sarno and some of the Bayaka community.