such a loot such a lot i like my tutors- they like my proposal- a few ammendments- a strong move away from the ethnographic definition of community
( which surely is a life times work?) to a closer look at the concetric rings of community within community at my specific context of soundart radio and my own relationships within that context- how ideas change, study ammends original ideas, develops with my understanding. I am a single student woman mother local working class artist 30yr old white bi radical agnositic - each aspect of me relates to the context in a different way, from within a different community, from a non-fixed place of allignments and intents and investments but all ifluence and interact. When i spoke to my tutors, we spoke about the personal value of this project to me- that the CEP is about my own relating to the context of my choice, that i form and develop angles of attention. I had some difficulty at first balancing the CEP between the approach of the academic- with the more experientual experimental writer. CEP is about distinguishing something magic and useful to myself- soundart/free radio is that- and then relate to it by immersion.
Thats making the very most of the ethos there- my writing / voice/ sound art / script /devises need to relax and recognise a home- that is liminal, ambigous, in transition, transmission open ended and full of oportunity - the academic in me needs to relax and know its limited use, and stop being so fearful of misunderstanding and responsibility .... for understanding to be authentic it needs to be personal.
the power of words is my happyness- from a emotional child to a instinctive woman, words make and brake me anew- the let me know i am alive, they intergrate me, are my 'blood' sticks and stones 'bread' and butter side up knowing which side i'm on that of the questioner words non static blank spaces relaxing void free fall the scream and the lullaby. I don't care for grammar so much, i stretch towards always the underneath, hidden, hiding, like a game...
A contextual enquiry for BA Writing at Dartington College of Arts: testing my own receptivity within the definition of a context: Community Radio. what do i mean by community? Living, sounding (broadcasting from) rural Devon, across the Southams, over the globe via the world wide web, on into outerspace. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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.
