WFAE President’s Report - October to December 2016
The next two editions of Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology, Volumes 15 & 16, will be packed full of unique scholarship, advice, and commentaries. Volume 15, Number 1 will be WFAE's first digital-only journal, available as a free download (PDF) from the WFAE website. Guest editor and ASAE member, Jay Needham calls its theme "Sounds emergent: diverse ecologies." This belated 2015 edition will be "part 1 of 2" and features a 20-page article by Timothy Morton, tentatively available by the end of this year, 2016. "Part 2 of 2" Volume 16, Number 1 will be the 2016 edition bearing a 20-page article by WFAE Vice President Dr. Leah Barclay. It will be published in early 2017. The mode of distribution might advance beyond a mere PDF into a more robust and functional digital form, with cross-platform readability and potential for audio and video, among other features. The 2017 edition of Soundscape Volume 17 would come out later that year. Editor-in-Chief Dr. Phylis Johnson will include a call for papers 2017 edition of Soundscape in this October-December edition of the WFAE Quarterly News.
Dr. Barclay proposed we assign DOI (Document Object Identification/Identifier) numbers for the journal's articles. She and Dr. Johnson are exploring the legal obligations and process for offering them.
Regarding other publishing matters, I am awaiting approval and feedback from the WFAE Board on a set of new logo design for the WFAE. The WFAE will use it in the launch of its new website, set for January 2017. Please note our current web host has changed and the old "wfae.proscenia.net" URL no longer works. Please "wfae.net" instead. Removing "proscenia" from the URL will help visitors to your web pages and blogs avoid 404 Not Found Errors.
On the international conference front, one is scheduled in 2016 and three are scheduled in 2017. WFAE endorsement of these conferences awaits board discussion and approval. Next are brief descriptions of each.
#SoundCon Joshua Tree, December 8-11, 2016 in California, USA is a global conference experience, in-person and live-online, for innovative sound makers, thinkers and listeners. “#SoundsOfLiberation is the theme for #SoundCon Joshua Tree. In this time of activism on policing; immigration; human rights across race, class, gender, and sexuality; the environment; and global uprisings for independence across the globe... artists, activists, and academics are making sounds of and for liberation.”
The second iteration of Invisible Places 2017 takes place April 7–9 on the amazing island of Sao Miguel, Azores. The deadline for abstracts, artistic residencies, and workshops is November 30, 2016. Its theme is explicitly focused on acoustic ecology and among its keynote speakers is none other than Hildegard Westerkamp, renowned composer, author, soundwalking advocate, radio artist, WFAE co-founder and founder of Soundscape: The Journal of Acoustic Ecology.
The ‘Sound + Environment’ conference on June 29–July 2 at the University of Hull, will bring together artists and scientists to examine the ways in which sound can inform our understanding of environments. Confirmed keynotes include Chris Watson and Dr. Barclay. The conference will see the launch of a specially commissioned 32 channel sound installation from Watson tracing the course of the Humber River from Trent Falls to Spurn Point. A number of other sound installations and performances are also featured in collaboration with Hull UK City of Culture and the PRS New Music Biennial. Peter Cusack is also interested in presenting work from the Favourite Sounds of Hull project.
The next Balance-Unbalance conference is themed “A Sense of Place” on August 21–23, in Plymouth, UK. Its emphasis is on the global impact of climate change, an environmental crisis with potential for extreme adversity for all life. The conference is a call to creative action, for new models for technology, art, and science to address. In the words of conference founder Ricardo Dal Farra, its purpose is not for a “an indulgent future” but “a matter of survival.”
Regarding WFAE affiliate groups, I have wondered how and when acoustic ecology will be taken up in China. Last month, Dr. Barclay returned from a fantastic UNESCO conference there. They are talking openly about the acoustic ecology of UNESCO sites across the world. Please read her conference report on these positive developments in this edition of the WFAE newsletter.
No affiliates near you? Start one. Many WFAE Affiliates have started with only a small group of dedicated individuals. To learn about the process of starting a WFAE Affiliate Organization, please contact us at secretary@wfae.net as we phase out wfae.organization@gmail.com.
