hi!

My practice as a writer has been developing towards audio work, and I have been more and more interested in the medium of radio as a platform for showing my own work, and also in radio’s possible uses as a tool of social empowerment. I am wishing to understand how radio is being used by artists and activists to create spaces that function as community centres, and how radio can be used to facilitate well being for individuals and in localities.
I will need to define what I understand by ‘community’, and also clarify which model of radio I will be studying.

I will be avoiding an ethnographic definition of community, as that is a life times’ work in itself- instead I will work around the ideas and writings of radio and audio artists (Gregory Whitehead, Allen Weiss, Charles Bernstein) and also other writers, artists and activists that offer definitions of community movements that I see Soundart radio as aligning itself alongside (Joan Retallack’s ‘dialogic community’, bell hooks’ ‘communities of resistance’, Felix Guattari’s ‘free radio’ etc.).


Radio for this CEP is a small local public broadcasting venture called Soundart Radio 102.5 FM, which broadcasts under a community license- it is not run for political or commercial gain, it is run by and on behalf of its listening community, and represents both the community of its geographical area, and also radio as a living and historic ‘hot’ media with a international community of listeners, producers, makers and enthusiasts. I will be seeking to understand how Soundart radio fulfils the role of community /ies, and how it serves the desires of said community /ies, and will be reflecting upon and monitoring my own interaction with these ideas as a individual participating, listening and producing, and process this into both audio and writing documentations.

Broadcasting can be considered as a mirror to the way we live, and I am interested in programming and stations that offer alternative and considered options within their scheduling.

Radio art requires a consistent body of research and practice that concentrates on sound at its point of signification, not a literal reading that will collapse into cliché, but a sensitivity to the ways in which meaning in sound circulates, dissipates and re-emerges. The development of an autonomous body of theory and practice regarding aural referentuality- in particular as it relates to radio and electronic media- will contribute to a better understanding of the role that radio art plays in the articulation of social and cultural ideas. (Lander,D. 1994, Radiocastings: musings on radio and art in Radio Rethink



The two community models I will be focusing on are individuals sharing a geographically related relationship within the area of FM reception, and also communities physically distant but still communing /communicating, thorough both FM and Internet radio. I will be looking the social benefits of participation in the arts:

Personal: growth in confidence, creative and transferable skills, social lives are improved through friendships, enjoyment and involvement in the community. In a wider social context: confidence of minority and marginalised groups is gained, promoting social cohesion. There is empowerment of a community to be involved in local affairs, a strengthened commitment to place and an ability to tackle problems. Provides the opportunity to take positive risks, contribute to education and personal and social change (Matarasso, F, 1997: ‘Use or Ornament? Social impact of participation in the arts’ p79-81).



I have secured a practical intern-ship at Soundart radio from September through till December 2010. This community radio station's location, programming and programmers, its geographical area, it's international and local outreach projects and its ethos and manifesto are all relevant to my enquiry.
My particular artistic interest lies with

Transmissions that Publicise the Private, or through an opening of dialogic space create new energy and directions within a social order.

Programming that re-instates the authority of chaos and chance, within the context of a functioning community.

Broadcasting that foregrounds and celebrates ambiguity and individuality, supported by structures of acceptance and value.

Work that transforms attention into action and revitalizes languages’ and radio’s uses in the public sphere.


I intend to immerse myself in the life of this small radio station for my time there.

Thursday 4 November 2010

FETE WORSE THAN DEATH

Fete worse than death-
if community can be understood best through times of celebration, soundart radios' is very healthy, if slightly gruesome.....

this was a wonderful if wet and blustery day- full of cake and laughter, live music and side shows- a diversity of folks coming up from the local area- though most were indeed already involved with shows or supporters of the station... Nathan Carter and I led a fierce campaign of postering in the town and surrounding areas, but I think most visitors on the day were aware of the event through soundarts' emailing list....

Dartington Hall, and the radio station stand on the top of a hill a mile distant from the town, and even when there is a excellent cinema, a beautiful landscaped garden to stroll, and other arts activities, it is more or less exclusively used by tourists or those that already have established affiliations with artistic community ( I've always enjoyed theatre, music and art, but did not use Dartington for anything other than cinema and garden till i started college there in 2008- it seems a little bit of a blind spot for locals....). I think this is interesting alongside the way that radio can be discovered by accident on the FM range-something lost in digital delivery- a listener might enjoy a programme but not know from where it is broadcast and have no loyalty or intention to take that listening further beyond that sound event when the radio is heard. 
Artists and programme makers decorated the studio, manned home made entertainments stalls and 'Not Fit For Human Consuption Cafe', gave stellar performances (Ergo Phizzmizz, Sam Richards' Jazz, Gino, Extra Stereo on the decks) and the amount of cake, soup, cake, coffee, cake and other treats was phonomenal,

We raised £400 toward a new playout computer and enjoyed ourselves massively.
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