In mid-September, Het Nieuwe Instituut hosted an evening event exploring how listening, in all its forms, can contribute to the design and management of cities. The programme was part of the “minus one Encounters” series and brought together artists, researchers and policymakers to examine this theme from different perspectives.
Renate Zentschnig from Soundtrackcity participated in the discussion, along with Jolande Venema, Toine van Mourik, Linnea Semmerling, and Colette Aliman, led by Federica Notari. The evening opened with a performance by Rotterdam-based sound artist and researcher Colette Aliman.
The discussion covered topics such as urban planning and policy, nightlife, collective listening practices and the way in which sound can help to imagine new worlds. Key questions included: can urban planners learn from how the cultural sector works with sound? Should composers have a seat at the table where plans for the city are made? And how can collective listening practices and the “politics of vibration” developed in cultural spaces be translated into municipal policy? These questions are, of course, perfectly in line with Soundtrackcity’s social mission.
