NOW HEAR THIS! is an outdoor exhibition and sound festival featuring the work of thirty-one different local and national sound artists, composers, instrument-builders, performers, and visual artists for whom listening plays a vital role in their creative process. Visitors are invited to consider the following questions: How can listening disrupt or enhance our sense of place and space? Can the act of listening produce new forms of public engagement and awareness? How can we listen more deeply and differently?
The exhibition includes five newly commissioned site-specific works of sound-based art by national and local artists Taraneh Hemami, Walter Kitundu, Hugh Livingston, Shane A. Myrbeck and Emily Shisko, and Stephen Vitiello. It also featured the launch of Soundings: Listening with Lucas Artists Composer Fellows, a new series of immersive audio walks providing visitors with the opportunity to explore Montalvo’s grounds while listening to a diverse range of sonic work by Lucas Artists Composer Fellows and their collaborators. The opening sound festival included a celebration of the life and legacy of seminal postwar composer and sound artist Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) organized by Lucas Artists Program Composer Fellow Luciano Chessa. The evening also featured an immersive sound and visual environment, Sama: The Divine Music organized by audiovisual/performance artist/filmmaker/DJ Arshia Haq, in which the artist used vinyl records, archival sounds, and digital recording to explore the Sufi practice of devotional listening; and an interactive workshop with Lucas Artists Composer Fellow Fernando Vigueras and visual artist Daniel Godinez Nivon, where visitors were to participate in a conversation about dreams, listening and sound and to create graphic scores using found objects.
The exhibition includes five newly commissioned site-specific works of sound-based art by national and local artists Taraneh Hemami, Walter Kitundu, Hugh Livingston, Shane A. Myrbeck and Emily Shisko, and Stephen Vitiello. It also featured the launch of Soundings: Listening with Lucas Artists Composer Fellows, a new series of immersive audio walks providing visitors with the opportunity to explore Montalvo’s grounds while listening to a diverse range of sonic work by Lucas Artists Composer Fellows and their collaborators. The opening sound festival included a celebration of the life and legacy of seminal postwar composer and sound artist Pauline Oliveros (1932-2016) organized by Lucas Artists Program Composer Fellow Luciano Chessa. The evening also featured an immersive sound and visual environment, Sama: The Divine Music organized by audiovisual/performance artist/filmmaker/DJ Arshia Haq, in which the artist used vinyl records, archival sounds, and digital recording to explore the Sufi practice of devotional listening; and an interactive workshop with Lucas Artists Composer Fellow Fernando Vigueras and visual artist Daniel Godinez Nivon, where visitors were to participate in a conversation about dreams, listening and sound and to create graphic scores using found objects.
Image Gallery
Meet the Artists
Partners and Sponsors
Now Hear This! was made possible through the generous support of the following program partners, exhibition sponsors, and Friends of the Lucas Artists Program:
Special thanks to our lead sponsor, The Marcus Family Foundation
The Jo and Barry Ariko Fund for Artistic Programs • Mitchell and Kristen Yawitz • Colleen Wilcox and Richard Ressman
The Jo and Barry Ariko Fund for Artistic Programs • Mitchell and Kristen Yawitz • Colleen Wilcox and Richard Ressman
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Press Release
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PRESS RELEASE
NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening Montalvo Arts Center is proud to announce the opening of NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening, which features five newly commissioned site-specific works of sound-based art by distinguished national and local artists. Participating artists will present immersive soundscapes and interactive sound sculptures that invite visitors to experience Montalvo’s grounds in new ways and listen more attentively to the world and one another. Read More>> |
Related Articles
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Nafasi Yako ni ya Kijani (Your Place is Green) 2017
By Walter Kitundu As one of the five commissioned site-specific works of sound-based art of NOW HEAR THIS!, artist Walter Kitundu provides a first-hand account of the building and meaning behind his sound installation, Nafasi Yako ni ya Kijani. Read More>> |
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Now Hear This! : One Voice (Yek Seda)
In the summer of 2017, in association with Montalvo Art Center’s outdoor exhibition NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening, artist Taraneh Hemami invited Lucas Artists Fellows and guest artists to interact with her newly commissioned sound sculpture, One Voice (Yek Seda) and create and share new sound works that respond to its themes. This video documents two public programs that took place in August and September 2017 in Montalvo’s Italianate Garden. Read More >> |
Related Audio & Video
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OPEN ACCESS
August and September By Donna Conwell, LAP Curator One of the most exciting aspects of bringing artists from different disciplines together at the Lucas Artists Program is observing how, hunkered down and deep in conversation around the table, a kind of alchemy can take place: ideas cross pollinate and plans for collective experimentation emerge. On Friday August 25, 2017, we gathered for a public program in Montalvo’s Italianate Garden in association with Montalvo’s latest outdoor exhibition NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening. Read More >> |
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NOW HEAR THIS! Opening Festival at Montalvo
How can we listen more deeply to one another and the world around us? On July 21, 2017 we invited emerging filmmaker Sam Gouldthorpe to document the opening celebration of NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening. This video features short interviews with the six artists who created new works for exhibition, as well as footage of the various temporary events and performances that occurred during the opening evening. These included a tribute to postwar composer Pauline Oliveros and her practice of deep listening. Read More >> |
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Announcing New Spotify Playlist for NOW HEAR THIS!
By Emily Borchers Curatorial assistant intern Emily Borchers has put together a Spotify playlist to accompany Montalvo's latest outdoor exhibition NOW HEAR THIS! Featuring the work of artists included in the exhibition, this diverse and varied playlist is intended to be relaxing and atmospheric. Read More >> |
Related Press
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NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening at Montalvo Arts Center
By Brandi Miceli, The Mercury News The Mercury News observed first hand the intersection between sound, listening, and artistry in Montalvo’s outdoor art exhibit, NOW HEAR THIS! An Exercise in Listening. Read More>> |
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SOUNDINGS @ Montalvo Arts Center
By David M. Roth, Squarecylinder Squarecylinder shared their experience of the five site-specific works that were commissioned to be heard at select locations on the Montalvo grounds. Read More>> |
