Call for Embedded Opportunity: The British Library Sound Archive

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1 Call for Embedded Opportunity: The British Library Sound Archive Embedded is a Sound and Music composer and creative artist development programme. Funded by The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Embedded places a selection of composers from a range of disciplines into extended relationships with leading national organisations. Aimed at talented composers at any stage in their career, Embedded is a bespoke programme, providing practical hands-on experience and a range of significant creative opportunities. So far over forty composers have benefited from Embedded, and there is overwhelming evidence that it can be a transformational experience in terms of talent development, artistic ambition, professional experience and growing networks. The residency is focused on artistic development and successful applicants will be encouraged to explore their ideas and creative practice under the auspices of the British Library Sound Archive. This opportunity will allow the selected composers to foster networks with sound heritage professionals, spark creative discussion across related disciplines and create new work. The opportunity will also allow the current participants in Sound and Music Embedded residencies to meet and share their experiences and ideas via attending two Embedded days over the course of the residency. The British Library is the repository of the nation s sound collections, totalling 7 million recordings on a range of formats. Its holdings trace the history of recording technology, with audio artefacts dating as far back as Of great national and international significance, sound collections include 19th and early 20 th century ethnographic recordings on phonograph cylinders inscribed in UNESCO s Memory of the World register large collections of published recordings representing the breadth of the United Kingdom s recording industry unique oral history and field recordings documenting knowledge, history and creativity across many regions and cultures; sounds across many disciplines, from historical, literary, dramatic, wildlife and environmental sounds to all genres of music Sound recordings play a significant and growing role in framing our memory of the past 100 years. They play a greater part in our lives than ever, in research, business, learning and culture. 90% of the UK adult population tunes in to radio every week, more music is being created and listened to, on more platforms, than ever before and record stores are gaining 1 There are an additional 0.5 million audio files in the Legal Deposit Web Archive and 0.2 million audio recordings in the UK Open Web Archive, as of March 2015.

2 renewed and mainstream interest. Established and emerging academic disciplines such as sound studies, material and visual cultural studies and archival studies are beginning to turn their attention to the and underexplored history of sound heritage. To celebrate the aural culture we are immersed in, the British Library Sound Archive and Sound and Music, would like to invite 2 composers to each spend 12 months in residency at the Library as a way of advancing new music that explores the diverse history of sound heritage to inform new creative work. The term composer is used here in the broadest possible sense and for this residency we will welcome applications from all artists working in the fields of sound or music, including performance artists, installation artists, improvisers, DJs and producers so long as the archive and its sound collections are central to the proposal presented. The successful applicants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the British Library Sound Archive by learning how to research and utilise the collections, studio facilities and sound recording equipment under the guidance of specialized subject Curators and technical staff. Although the residency is artist-led and provides support and space to develop creative ideas and practice, applications should, more specifically, engage with either of the themes outlined below. Scope: This Embedded residency represents a unique, exciting and challenging opportunity to work directly with the collections of sound recordings held at the British Library. This will involve thorough research by the artists in residence and the outcome should somehow tie in with either the Save our Sounds programme or the British Library s upcoming exhibition on West Africa. 1) In January 2015, the British Library launched Save our Sounds as part of the Library s Living Knowledge strategy, which sets out its vision for future development, looking ahead to its 50 th anniversary in Preservation of audio heritage is a key element of this strategy in recognition of sound s potential to convey knowledge and meaning on par with text and visual sources. The international audio-visual archiving community has recognised that there are approximately fifteen years in which to save sound collections by digitising them before they become unreadable and are effectively lost. Save our Sounds will endeavour to respond to this situation by digitising collections at risk. In May 2015, the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the Library 9.5 million to support saving the nation s sounds and opening them up online for the world to hear. Although the core activities of the Save our Sounds programme will be carried out between 2017 and 2022, this Embedded Residency will be an opportunity to create original sound work in relationship with the core ideas of Save our Sounds. Compositions and sound works which artistically address the fragility of sound heritage, the ephemeral quality of sound, reflect on the origins and philosophical implications brought about by the advent of recording technology or simply exploit the expanse of sonic material available in the archive to create new music, will be most welcome. 2) An upcoming exhibition, which takes a bold, challenging, and celebratory look at West Africa will run from October 2015 to February 2016 in the Paccar Gallery at the British Library s London site. Referencing a millennium of history, from the great empires of the

3 middle ages through colonialism, resistance and independence, to contemporary life and culture and drawing on stories from the region s 17 nations, it will show how West Africans have shaped their identity as individuals and communities. A particular focus will be West Africa s profound and engaging literary culture, its centuries-old written heritage existing alongside oral traditions including music. Writers, scholars, musicians and artists have harnessed the power of words to build societies, make political statements, communicate religious belief and fight injustice and enslavement, and as a response to the experience of diaspora. Today, West Africa is experiencing an outpouring of creativity in a variety of genres and media. In alignment with this theme, we would like to invite composers in residence to engage with these rich traditions through the Library s collections and create new works or musical compositions that celebrate and engage with them in innovative ways. The financial and technical support for the opportunity includes: Agreed expenses for travel and accommodation A bursary of 2,000 (per composer) Agreed production budget for developing work Possibility of utilising recording studios and sound recording equipment available at the British Library Sound Archive for the production of the work Possibility of utilising public spaces in the British Library to showcase installation and fixed media pieces or performance of live pieces Details of the development process: Develop your artistic work with mentored support: You will be able to contribute to the selection of your mentor after you have been successful in your application. Attend two Embedded sessions during the residency period and share ideas with the other participating composers. Work within the British Library Sound Archive and with its collections. Develop your research skills and subject area knowledge with the guidance of specialist Curatorial staff and Technical staff. Use the British Library s public spaces to give a talk, demonstration, lecture or performance of your work and publish reflections on your creative process on the Library s online channels. Composers who are selected to take place in the Embedded programme will be offered an opportunity to participate in a Performance Coaching programme run by Sound and Music. Performance Coaching is a one-to-one relationship that supports a person to improve aspects of their performance at work or work-life balance. This may include focus on particular working relationships, delegation or decision-making as well as overall career direction and focus. Timeframe for the project 17 th July Deadline for applications 14 th August Notification of interviews 3 rd September Interviews 5 th September Notification of acceptance 29 th September (TBC) Residency start date Selection process:

4 A selection panel will shortlist individuals for interview. The panel will include representatives from the British Library Sound Archive, a representative from Sound and Music and an independent artist. Interviews will take place on 3rd September at Somerset House, London. Eligibility: You must be a British Citizen or resident in the UK for the duration of the scheme You must not be in full time undergraduate education You must represent a significant development opportunity for you You must be available for interview in London on the appointed date You must be able to invest c10 weeks of time in residence with the British Library from September 2015 September 2016 You must be available to join other Embedded artists with Sound and Music for 2 away days You may apply for more than one Sound and Music professional development scheme (Embedded and Portfolio) but no single composer may take up parallel residencies within any one scheme. E.g. you may only take up one residency at any one time. If you choose to do so, please submit separate applications for each call. No single composer can take up more than two consecutive residencies (Embedded/Portfolio) within any one scheme. E.g. A Portfolio residency followed by another Portfolio residency. However you may take up two different schemes consecutively, providing each residency presents a significant development opportunity for you. A composer engaged in a current Sound and Music project (e.g. Adopt a Composer, Composer-Curator, Touring, Higher Education Programme) may apply to a residency in a different scheme and vice versa. E.g. you can take up a Portfolio or Embedded residency at the same time as another project. Sound and Music actively seeks to encourage a diversity of applicants to its programmes. If you are selected, we will do our best to accommodate any particular needs you may have. How to apply: If you wish to apply, please complete the online form available here: You must include your name in the title of every attachment you send. Please also include your name and the opportunity you re applying for in the header of each document. You will be asked to include: 1. Your CV and including a list of key performances/collaborations (as one document, 2 sides maximum) 2. Your biography (no more than 100 words) 3. A statement of no more than 1 side of A4 addressing the following questions: a. Why would you like to undertake a residency at the British Library Sound Archive? b. How would this residency be useful to you in terms of your own professional development?

5 c. What would your starting points be in approaching this residency and the outlined themes? d. What experience do you have working or researching in an archive or with archival collections? e. What are your other commitments for ? 4. Documentation of two examples of your work. If you are submitting media (audio or visual) do not send files, instead please provide links to a website where we can access the material e.g. Soundcloud, Vimeo, your own website. For other forms of work please upload as pdfs any scores or textual descriptions, along with links to any media. 5. A completed equal opportunities form which will follow on from the online application form linked to above For any queries please contact Harry Cooper at Sound and Music on angharad.cooper@soundandmusic.org or Deadline for applications: noon on Friday 17 July 2015 Late applications cannot be considered We will acknowledge receipt of your application automatically once you submit your online form. The British Library is home to the UK s Sound Archive, a treasure trove of living history containing more than 7 million sounds including music, spoken word, oral history, wildlife and the environment dating back to the birth of recorded sound in the 19th century. Discover more and listen to Sounds at Sound and Music s vision is to create a world where new music and sound prospers, transforming lives, challenging expectations and celebrating the work of its creators. Our work includes composer and artist support and development, partnerships with a range of organisations, live events and audience development, touring, information and advice, network building, and education. We champion new music and the work of British composers and artists, and seek to ensure that they are at the heart of cultural life and enjoyed by many.