Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance – The Barbican

Earlier this year I was invited by the audio producers Eleanor McDowall and Nina Garthwaite to curate a ‘listening room’ for this online project at the Barbican called Soundhouse: Intimacy and Distance.

As they say on the site, “Soundhouse is a platform for creative radio and podcasting, and a space for reflections on audio culture.” And each listening room “…is playing a selection of experimental podcasts and creative radio from around the world.”

I got to create an audio loop that would be around an hour long, featuring audio pieces on any theme that I wanted to explore. There were also two other listening rooms, curated by the amazing Ariana Martinez and Axel Kacoutié.

I decided to make a loop featuring work from audio producers who have used the medium of personal / intimate / vulnerable storytelling to explore bigger themes of marginalisation, like white supremacy, patriarchy, transphobia, etc. This is something I spend a lot of time thinking about, and it’s work that really inspires me as a producer.

I’m really grateful that everyone I approached to feature in the loop was happy to be part of it. They are Julia Freeman, Nicole Kelly, Stacia L Brown, Melissa Madera and Mara Lazer.

The site also features a bunch of amazing writing from different people, and is really beautiful to look at! So do check it out while it’s online (until sometime in Feb 2021).