Calling all sound practitioners, researchers, musicians and music & culture enthusiasts:

How do you engage with sound in your everyday life? Do you hear the city? When you walk, do you notice what this sounds like? Do you pay attention to the birds in your neighborhood? What about other forms of noise? Do you find yourself lingering on musicality, motions, and language? Do you wish to engage with sound, language, and ephemera in ways you don’t yet have ideas or knowledge for? Do you simply wish to know more?

If any of these questions are some that you may have thought about before, please join Alan Marzo and Olivier Duport (Flee Project) and writer and researcher Nouf Abdulkarim for a 7 day workshop, where we will dive into the musicality surrounding the Red Sea, and learn different ways to interact, document, and research these art forms.

Objectives:

Cultural Exploration: Investigate and document traditional and contemporary music genres unique to the region, including influences from diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds, such as music in the public and private spheres, lullabies, celebrations, and the distinct musical practices of women and men in the mountains, seas, and valleys as well as urban contexts.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Foster collaborations between artists, musicians, producers and sound researchers to create innovative and culturally resonant works inspired by Red Sea music traditions.

Community Engagement: Engage local communities and stakeholders in dialogue about the significance of music in preserving cultural heritage and promoting cultural exchange.

Alternative Narratives: Explore and implement alternative research methods to deepen the understanding of the music traditions, while opening dialogue among participants and the community.

Location: Hayy Jameel, Jeddah

Timeline:

Application Deadline: August 15, 2024

Selection Notification: By no later than August 22, 2024

Project Duration: September 1 – 7, 2024
– Sunday to Thursday: 5pm – 10pm
– Friday and Saturday: 10am – 10pm

Application:
Interested participants are invited to submit the following:

•  A CV, along with at least one of the following:
  • A portfolio
  • A letter of interest
• The following prompts:
  • What are you hoping to gain from this program?
  • If selected, what would you be interested in sharing with the community?
  • What’s the last song you listened to?

About Nouf Abdulkarim:

Nouf Abdulkarim is an interdisciplinary researcher, writer, and storyteller based in Saudi Arabia. She possesses a unique creative approach that combines various forms of writing such as poetry and prose to delve into multiple aspects of the language. Her research and writing aim to investigate the capacity of language to construct meanings and reshape identity, allowing readers to connect with diverse thoughts and develop their own perspectives on various sonic topics, including memories, places, and literature. Her recent work has been presented at Saudi Arabia Museum for Contemporary Art (2024), Fenaa Alawwal (2023), and Misk Art Institute (2022).

About FLEE:

Founded by Alan Marzo, Olivier Duport and Carl Åhnebrink, FLEE is an art collective functioning as an independent publisher, record label and curatorial platform. Shedding the light on subjectively selected sound and cultural phenomena, while making them interact with contemporary artistic approaches, the trans-disciplinary initiative explores and emphasizes the outlines of globalization from a historical and critical perspective. Its installations, commissioned works as well as objects have been featured in festivals like Les Rencontres d’Arles, the MAAT Museum in Lisbon, the Jeu de Paume in Paris or the Oggetto Libro Biennale in MIlan.

About Olivier Duport:

Is a French-Austrian photographer and artistic director born in Grenoble, France in 1989. Bringing together anthropology and vanguard research his practice focuses on architecture photography. His publications include essays on the Cahiers Européen de l’Imaginaire as well as Norient. As a photographer, “Fiat Lux”, his last book was published in 2023 and focused on modern sacred architecture in Southern Italy. He is the co-founder of the FLEE art platform, which he directs since 2020.

About Alan Marzo:

Co-founder of the FLEE platform, Alan Marzo is a Swiss artist, researcher and curator defending a creative fluid approach. His writings and projects have appeared on the Cahiers du Musée d’Art Moderne, as well as Galerie du Griffon and the Rome Pigneto Film Festival. As an artist, under the pseudonym Alan Strani, he is interested in the symbolic and evocative power of different materials and environments. Releasing synth pop music on Amsterdam-based label Bordello a Parigi, his more conceptual work has featured in exhibitions in cities like Paris, Lisbon, Buenos Aires and Sharjah.

Credit of the image goes to the Red Sea Center. Please read more about them and their work here.

Click here to visit the Echoes of Shells official website.

Click here to download the programme’s booklet.