Binaural/Nodar announces:

Open call for applications:
Nodar Summer School 2013: Documenting and reinventing the memory of a territory

An intensive program of theoretical seminars and field-work artistic practice
22 – 28 July 2013 / 7 days / 60 hours
Locations: Rural villages of Gralheira Mountain Range, São Pedro do Sul

 

1. Direction

Luis Costa (Sound documentarist and educator. Arts and social sciences independent researcher. President of Binaural/Nodar)

in collaboration with:
Manuela Barile (filmmaker / vocal performer / sound artist and artistic director of Binaural/Nodar),
Rui Costa (electroacoustic/sound artist and editorial director of Binaural/Nodar)

Invited speakers

Duncan Whitley (UK), sound artist with long-standing practice in anthropological issues
Megan Michalak (US), multimedia artsist with experience in dealing with social and political issues

 

2. Keywords and recipients

Territory, landscape, community, cultural tradition, documentation, intangible heritage, sound and visual anthropology, ethnography, sociology, political sciences, phonograhy, sound art, multi-media arts, land art

Recipients: Students / professionals / interest in social sciences, rural studies, earth sciences, contemporary art, experimental sound and image. Regional or local technicians in the fields of culture or heritage

 

3. Applications

Applications accepted until 31 May, 2013 by sending a CV / biography and letter of motivation to info-binauralmedia.org
Communication of the selected entrants: 10 June, 2013
Maximum number of entrants: 15

 

4. Fees:

Registration Fee: 400 Euros, including teaching materials, transportation for field trips, accommodation and food.
Payment of 50% until 15 June 2013 and payment of the other 50% until 15 July 2013.
50% discount if without accommodation and food (it is possible to camp outside the residency house)

 

5. Objectives and program

This is a time for the rediscovery of territories, its landscapes and heritage resources, both tangible and intangible. It is also a time of production and dissemination, sometimes massive and chaotic, of audiovisual material related to territories. However, there are many misconceptions on the loose about the what could really mean documenting the real using audiovisual media. We therefore need to reflect, with both depth and patience, upon a series of crucial aspects: what areas of knowledge are useful for documenting territories? which sensory aspects may be related to an enhanced experience of a place? What can and should be given back to the documented communities? How to escape immediate impressions and to capture in innovative ways the deep and subtle meanings of the cultural magma of a territory: its archaisms, changes, contaminations, contradictions, endogenous and exogenous social representations?

This 7-day intensive course offers a critical sharing of some of the methodologies and work practices developed since 2006 by Binaural/Nodar in the Gralheira mountain range (Center Portugal), based on a direct and continuous contact with rural communities and in an exploratory approach in terms of concepts, meanings and used media. The following are some of the issues to be addressed:

  • The sense of place: philosophy and aesthetics of landscape. Discussion of authors and works.
  • History, ethnography, anthropology and art as tools for multidisciplinary work. Discussion of authors and works.
  • The ethics of images and sounds: a critical analysis of visual and sound works.
  • The authenticity of communities: how to understand and deal with such representations, mythifications and simplifications.
  • The multi-sensory approach to a territory as a way of enriching the experience
  • Techniques and practicalities of field work. Planning field work, the role of time, mediation and involvement of local partners. Practice of field work in several villages.
  • Sound techniques applied to the knowledge of territories: practical exercises of sound recording in landscapes, work environments, oral tradition and music, etc..
  • Text, photo and video documentation, digital mapping of information and the forms of integration between different media.
  • Design of final sound/media action and/or installation.
  • Talk with the inhabitants of what has been documented and created.
  • Organization of final documentation and discussion of future dissemination possibilities.

 

Language

The course will be taught in English with translation to Portuguese, Spanish and/or Italian if necessary.