SOUND ARTIST :: an artist who integrates sound, or sound theory, into their practice

We were overwhelmed when we found out our funding bid for Bradford 2025’s Artist-Led Project Awards was successful. Sound art is a niche discipline with roots in fine art and a complex but fascinating history tied to both political and technological movements. Sound as a medium within art practices is varied and presents itself as text in Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit, as sculpture in Carolee Schneemann’s War Mop, as performance in Ellen Fullman’s Streetwalker, as a score in Cathy Berberian’s Stripsody, as poetry in Carla Harryman’s Performing Objects Stationed in the Sub World, and an installation in Janet Cardiff’s Forty Part Motet.

In recent years, it has gained mainstream visibility, particularly through prestigious recognition’s like the Turner Prize, and continues to be used as a powerful tool to engage with STEM fields.

One of the most exciting trends in sound art is the rise of STEMinist activity, with women increasingly involved in reshaping the field by amplifying the traditionally subservient acts of weaving and typing, into sounding agents through use of DIY electronics.

Since the early 2000’s, sound art has embraced a DIY, hacktivist, analogue aesthetic, alongside the use of digital freeware, making the medium more accessible than ever before.

We are incredibly proud to bring some of the most prominent female artists in the field to Bradford for this special weekender event. This event will serve as a space for women and womxn from Bradford who are interested in sound to come together to create, engage, and expand their networks—both locally and internationally.

There will be seed commissions awarded to members of the Bradford Sound Women Network to produce a new piece of work under the mentorship of artists who are part of YSWN. Works can be sounding or non-sounding, but must have sound or sound theory at their core, and can be sculptural, installation or performative.

CREDITS

Claire Kearns | Artistic Director & Creative Producer

shi Blank | Creative Technologist & Design Lead

Jannat Iqbal | Photographer & All-Round Good Egg

Helen Stead | PAT & Event Cheerleader

Partnered by Yorkshire Sound Women Network, who are our grant administrators.

Funded by BD2025

In-kind support from our hosts Theatre in the Mill