THESTORE is open during Christkindl Market! Shop until 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday and until 4 p.m. Sunday for all your holiday gifting needs.

A A
Open Saturday - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
 
Exhibition Banner

Immerse Yourself in The Sound Experience until September 12, 2021!

SONICA | The Sound Experience, Digital Dynamics 2021, opened at THEMUSEUM in downtown Kitchener in 2021. Comprised of both engaging and reflective works, SONICA | The Sound Experience brings together eight inspiring artists and artist groups to interpret and explore sound. What is sound? Is it something you see, hear, feel? Visitors will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in each unique installation to discover the answers to these questions while also being able to share their personal experiences with sound and even silence. SONICA will take what you think you know about sound and challenge you to redefine what it means to you.

Eight Talented and Imaginative Artist Groups

216 prepared dc-motors, cotton balls, cardboard boxes 40x40x40 cm

Meet the Artist

Zimoun

Zimoun lives and works in Bern, Switzerland. His work has been presented internationally. Recent and upcoming displays of his work include exhibitions at the Hayward Gallery London; Museum of Contemporary Art MAC Santiago de Chile; Nam June Paik Art Museum Seoul; Kuandu Museum Taipei; Art Museum Reina Sofia Madrid; Ringling Museum of Art Florida; Mumbai City Museum; National Art Museum Beijing; LAC Museum Lugano; Seoul Museum of Art; Museum MIS São Paulo; Muxin Art Museum Wuzhen; Kunsthalle Bern; Taipei Fine Arts Museum; Le Centquatre Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art Busan; Museum of Fine Arts MBAL; Kunstmuseum Bern; Museum Collection Lambert Avignon; among others. For more information, visit his website at www.zimoun.net and Instagram @ StudioZimoun.

DISCUSS MATTERS, IT TAKES TIME, Paintings of a Sound Artist and SOUND TOWERS

Meet the Artist

James Kirkpatrick

Well known for his participation in the early Canadian avant-garde hip hop movement as Thesis Sahib, Kirkpatrick works in a variety of media, including drawing, painting, sound sculptures, murals, zines, comics, and mask-making. He incorporates kinetic and auditory elements, combining his 2D aesthetic with altered electronic toys and compositions on modified Gameboys that have become part of his music and on-stage performances as Thesis Sahib, for the Nintendo Switch game SPINCH, and for the European band AWARDS.

He joins a long tradition of artists whose art-making is entwined with an exploration of everyday life and a search to understand our place in the world.

Find Silence

Meet the Artist

Kanika Gupta

Kanika Gupta is a multidisciplinary artist who uses visual arts and storytelling to create dialogue and foster deeper human connections. Through multimodal and sensory-based work, Kanika is passionate about engaging public audiences with art in ways that are meaningful and inclusive to them. Kanika

is the author and illustrator of BRAVE and her artwork has been presented in public spaces, outdoor festivals, museums, and galleries. She also collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations to make their practices and physical environments more inclusive through breaking both physical and invisible barriers to access. Kanika’s artwork and community building endeavours have been profiled internationally. Her work can be seen at www.byKanika.com.

Kanika is the artistic director of Soundprint. This is part of Soundprint: a multimodal and evolving art installation on noise pollution intended to evoke thought on
what choices can be made today to allow for a quieter and more inclusive future. Soundprint is made up of a series of stand-alone artistic research experiments that use art and technology to make visible our individual soundprints (audio footprints) and explore how our collective soundprints shape our mental and physical health as well as social behaviours.

Forest UnderSound

Meet the Artist

Tosca Terán

Tosca is an interdisciplinary artist working at the intersection of art and ecology. By developing work incorporating metal, glass, and electronics, Tosca has received scholarships from The Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School, and The Penland School of Crafts. Tosca’s work has been featured at SOFA New York, Culture Canada, Metalsmith Magazine, The Toronto Design Exchange, the Memphis Metal Museum, MOCA in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre, Music Works Magazine, and Vector Festival. In 2019, Tosca was one of the first Bio- Artists in residence at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto in partnership with the Ontario Science Centre. As a recipient of the 2019 BigCi Environmental Award at Wollemi National Park within the Greater Blue Mountains, Tosca further explored the bio-sonification of fungi and trees with local mycologists and botanists throughout Wollemi, the Sydney Botanical Gardens, and with Māori rangers concerned with Kauri dieback at the Arataki Visitor Centre, New Zealand. Tosca was recently awarded a Remote Realities Residency with Trinity Square Video and Dames Making Games.

Format 3 Wallpaper

Meet the Artist

FOO/SKOU

Danish-born collaborative duo FOO/SKOU (Louise Foo and Martha Skou) work with smartphone technology, physical computing, graphics, printmaking, textiles, and sculpture to explore the possibilities of composing, making, and experiencing sound in the digital age. The graphic score, a form of musical notation that utilizes visual symbols to represent music, is central to their interest in experimental sound. FOO/SKOU have shown their interactive sound installations at venues such as The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in NYC, Maison Du Danemark in Paris, Telfair Museums in Savannah, and Pioneer Works Center for Art + Innovation in NYC and has been accepted to residencies together at NARS, Pioneer Works Center for Art + Innovation, and The Centre for the Holographic Arts. The duo is currently working on a large-scale interactive sound installation commissioned by Nikolaj Kunsthal in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Museum of Quietness

Meet the Artist

Kanika Gupta

Kanika Gupta is a multidisciplinary artist who uses visual arts and storytelling to create dialogue and foster deeper human connections. Through multimodal and sensory-based work, Kanika is passionate about engaging public audiences with art in ways that are meaningful and inclusive to them. Kanika is the author and illustrator of BRAVE and her artwork has been presented in public spaces, outdoor festivals, museums, and galleries. She also collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations to make their practices and physical environments more inclusive through breaking both physical and invisible barriers to access. Kanika’s artwork and community building endeavours have been profiled internationally. Her work can be seen at www.byKanika.com.

Kanika is the artistic director of Soundprint. This is part of Soundprint: a multimodal and evolving art installation on noise pollution intended to evoke thought on
what choices can be made today to allow for a quieter and more inclusive future. Soundprint is made up of a series of stand-alone artistic research experiments that use art and technology to make visible our individual soundprints (audio footprints) and explore how our collective soundprints shape our mental and physical health as well as social behaviours.

Luisa Ji

Luisa Ji is a Chinese-Canadian designer. Her work spans creative direction, digital strategy, digital products, and visual design. With a strong sense of curiosity, her approach to designing and organizing digital interactions draws from patterns from her experiences in architecture, urban studies, and Chinese vernacular knowledge. She worked on projects focused on digitally-mediated civic engagement, participatory design, and performative works based on spatial interactions alongside artists, architects, cultural initiatives, and municipal departments. In 2018, Luisa co- founded Nomadic Labs, a digital studio, working with community groups, social impact organizations, and non-profits globally on digital solutions through the lens of design ethics and digital equity. As a community-builder, Luisa is currently the Global Chapters Director of Speculative Futures, a program of the Design Futures Initiative, supporting and facilitating meaningful conversations to connect an amalgamation of educators, designers, futurists, and foresight strategists in 50+ cities across 6 continents.

Ocean Drum

Meet the Artists

Scott Lindsay & Richard Burrows – presented by The Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound

The Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound based in Waterloo Region uses unusual venues to present a very eclectic range of musics from indie-classical music to electroacoustic, musique actuelle, and sound installation. Innovative and collaborative, the Festival works closely with other organizations to co-present activities or to include activities within our schedule. Our main centre of activity takes place in Waterloo Region.

The focus of all events is the act of listening. Featuring a mix of local, national, and international artists, concerts have featured ensembles from traditional ensembles, such as string quartet, orchestra, choir, to turntable art, multimedia, anachronism, and dance. Concerts are presented indoors and out, in traditional concert halls and churches, as well as alternative spaces, including abandoned buildings and parkades.

The festival will run from June 3 to June 6, 2021. More information can be found at openears.ca

Pipe-O-Phone

Meet the Artists

Scott Lindsay & Richard Burrows – presented by The Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound

The Open Ears Festival of Music and Sound based in Waterloo Region uses unusual venues to present a very eclectic range of musics from indie-classical music to electroacoustic, musique actuelle, and sound installation. Innovative and collaborative, the Festival works closely with other organizations to co-present activities or to include activities within our schedule. Our main centre of activity takes place in Waterloo Region.

The focus of all events is the act of listening. Featuring a mix of local, national, and international artists, concerts have featured ensembles from traditional ensembles, such as string quartet, orchestra, choir, to turntable art, multimedia, anachronism, and dance. Concerts are presented indoors and out, in traditional concert halls and churches, as well as alternative spaces, including abandoned buildings and parkades.

The festival will run from June 3 to June 6, 2021. More information can be found at openears.ca

Resonate

Meet the Artist

Jean René

Jean René is a multidisciplinary visual artist, architect, and urban planner whose large-scale murals have been displayed on the surfaces of Canada’s historic sites, including national museums, community centres, and private buildings. Overflowing with creativity, Jean finds the source of his inspiration in his keen curiosity regarding humankind’s aesthetic form. In particular, his fascination with the deep mysteries of the unconscious and the brain has prompted his artistic expressions, which come together within KOMA Lab, a creative project showcasing neuroscience research, neuro experiments, and data collection in a novel way using digital medical imaging, multimedia, performance, and art.

Kanika Gupta

Kanika Gupta is a multidisciplinary artist who uses visual arts and storytelling to create dialogue and foster deeper human connections. Through multimodal and sensory-based work, Kanika is passionate about engaging public audiences with art in ways that are meaningful and inclusive to them. Kanika

is the author and illustrator of BRAVE and her artwork has been presented in public spaces, outdoor festivals, museums, and galleries. She also collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations to make their practices and physical environments more inclusive through breaking both physical and invisible barriers to access. Kanika’s artwork and community building endeavours have been profiled internationally. Her work can be seen at www.byKanika.com.

Kanika is the artistic director of Soundprint. This is part of Soundprint: a multimodal and evolving art installation on noise pollution intended to evoke thought on
what choices can be made today to allow for a quieter and more inclusive future. Soundprint is made up of a series of stand-alone artistic research experiments that use art and technology to make visible our individual soundprints (audio footprints) and explore how our collective soundprints shape our mental and physical health as well as social behaviours.

Rachelle Lavergne

Rachelle Lavergne is a writer, editor, and translator who also teaches French as a second language. Her clients have included an international development agency, Christian ministries, a private dog training business, and artists, whom she assists to compose or fine-tune texts such as short biographies, websites, worksheets, and books. On the creative side, she writes poetry, performs spoken word, has published a short story, and enjoys playing with the order or looping of song lyrics in her occasional work as a freelance DJ.

Stephen Surlin

Stephen Surlin works in multiple mediums including 3D modeling,
3D printing, sound design, and musical performance. Stephen’s work and research often uses speculative design and design-thinking methodologies to imagine near futures and produce diegetic prototypes that can influence our strategies in the present. Surlin received his BFA at the University of Windsor as well as an MDes from OCAD University, and is currently in McMaster University’s PhD program in Communication, New Media and Cultural Studies, with a focus on media-sharing platforms and network access for marginalized communities.

Sound Portraits

Meet the Artist
Create your own Sound Portrait

Conor Byron

Conor Byron is a software artist interested in the performative, participatory, and sensory aspects of engaging with digital media. Specialising in sound and graphics programming, he designs and develops applications for both physical installations and screen-based experiences. Inspired by a lifelong interest in the tools and techniques of animation, video games, and electronic music, he pursues the exploration and creation of intimate and meditative audiovisual software experiences.

Kanika Gupta

Kanika Gupta is a multidisciplinary artist who uses visual arts and storytelling to create dialogue and foster deeper human connections. Through multimodal and sensory-based work, Kanika is passionate about engaging public audiences with art in ways that are meaningful and inclusive to them. Kanika is the author and illustrator of BRAVE and her artwork has been presented in public spaces, outdoor festivals, museums, and galleries. She also collaborates with cultural institutions and organizations to make their practices and physical environments more inclusive through breaking both physical and invisible barriers to access. Kanika’s artwork and community building endeavours have been profiled internationally. Her work can be seen at www.byKanika.com.

Kanika is the artistic director of Soundprint. This is part of Soundprint: a multimodal and evolving art installation on noise pollution intended to evoke thought on
what choices can be made today to allow for a quieter and more inclusive future. Soundprint is made up of a series of stand-alone artistic research experiments that use art and technology to make visible our individual soundprints (audio footprints) and explore how our collective soundprints shape our mental and physical health as well as social behaviours.

Luisa Ji

Luisa Ji is a Chinese-Canadian designer. Her work spans creative direction, digital strategy, digital products, and visual design. With a strong sense of curiosity, her approach to designing and organizing digital interactions draws from patterns from her experiences in architecture, urban studies, and Chinese vernacular knowledge. She worked on projects focused on digitally-mediated civic engagement, participatory design, and performative works based on spatial interactions alongside artists, architects, cultural initiatives, and municipal departments. In 2018, Luisa co- founded Nomadic Labs, a digital studio, working with community groups, social impact organizations, and non-profits globally on digital solutions through the lens of design ethics and digital equity. As a community-builder, Luisa is currently the Global Chapters Director of Speculative Futures, a program of the Design Futures Initiative, supporting and facilitating meaningful conversations to connect an amalgamation of educators, designers, futurists, and foresight strategists in 50+ cities across 6 continents.

The Sounds of the Region

Meet the Artist

Mary Abdel-Malek Neil

Mary Neil is a singer, songwriter, and founder of KW Junk Music. As the 2019 City of Kitchener artist in residence, Mary’s residency project involved engaging with participants creating music that reflects the values and diversity of communities across the City of Kitchener. These “community compositions” have inspired growth in her practice and creativity, and continuance of her work through collaborative music-making projects.

In 2017, Mary founded KW Junk Music to support communities and organizations by offering creative, educational music-making opportunities using items diverted from landfills and recycling plants. KW Junk Music hosts events and workshops inspiring participants to compose music through a collaborative process, with the desire of bringing music-making into diverse settings for the masses. Mary is also working on an album of songs inspired by issues arising from the rapid growth of the Region of Waterloo community. The Sounds of the Region exhibit features four songs from this album. For more information, visit www.maryneil.ca.

Timbre Space

Meet the Artist

David Rokeby

David Rokeby’s early work Very Nervous System (1982-1991) was a pioneering work of interactive art, translating physical gestures into real-time interactive sound environments. It was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1986. Several of his works have addressed issues of digital surveillance, including Taken and Sorting Daemon. Works such as The Giver of Names and n-cha(n)t critically examine the differences between human and artificial intelligence.

David has exhibited and lectured extensively in the Americas, Europe and Asia. His awards include a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, a Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica for Interactive Art, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts “BAFTA” award in Interactive Art. He is the Director of the BMO Lab for Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and AI at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto.

 

Cool Sh*t We’re Diggin’

Radio Garden

Listen to radio stations across the globe.

I Miss My Bar

Recreate your favourite bar atmosphere at home.

Play a Kandinsky

Explore Vassily Kandinsky’s synesthesia with the help of machine learning.

Funded by the Government of Ontario
 

Why open THEMUSEUM newsletters?

"Just scanning the themes here, I think you and the programming team should be very proud of the relevance of your institution to so many of the important conversations of our time. Please keep doing what you’re doing!"

- Glen Drummond, Chief Innovation Officer, Quarry.com