Community Fellowships: Update From The Fellows

A few weeks in, our first three Community Fellowship projects are running at full speed. Below is a status update from our Fellows and their individual round ups, check them out and learn about how you can get involved:

Alex Stiver – United Sounds

Since the project launch United Sounds has been busy inviting submissions, as well as connecting with like-minded groups and media from all corners of the globe, with the aim of assembling the most comprehensive online audio archive of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

With interest coming from users across five continents, there are currently recordings of the UDHR uploaded to SoundCloud in 13 languages (an auspicious number!). The project boasts submissions in five of the six official languages of the United Nations: Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish (any Russian speakers out there?). Recordings of the Declaration have also been posted in, among others, the precise sounds of Icelandic, the lyrical tones of Italian, the varying inflections of Latvian, and the fluctuating pitch of Vietnamese. Comments confirm that users back the message of the project as a whole, and are also enjoying listening to the sounds of the tracks regardless of whether they speak the language of each submission (SoundCloud user NDee honestly types: “very interesting, though I can’t understand anything”!).

Progress has been tracked through 1500 cumulative listens to the content posted on the Group page. United Sounds has also generated blog posts of support, enthusiastic Tweets from global groups and projects, and many virtual high-fives. The mission of United Sounds is resonating with communities both on- and off-line…a big “huzzah and thank you”, in all 370+ languages of the UDHR, to all those who have contributed to the project so far!

Katie Needs – Sounds Of My City

A quick hello & call for submissions! by katieneeds

Sounds of My City has been on a bit of a whirlwind tour of the acoustic environment found around Toronto and abroad! Let’s get caught up, shall we? Toronto battled an intense heatwave at Woodbine Beach, collaborator Ian Culshaw took a trip from Shoreditch High Street to Highbury & Islington on the London Overground, and I had a great time at the Brewery Market at Wychwood Barns, where organizers Cass & John were kind enough to give us a little interview about the event! I took a soundwalk from Parkdale to Sunnyside Beach, visited the always amazing Beaches Jazz Festival StreetFest (and so did fellow fellow, Alex), and had my mind blown by the unique looped sounds from a Century City parking lot in Los Angeles, recorded by Bill Harrington of UEM. I had a great time during the 7th inning stretchat the Blue Jays game, ran into some Capoeiristas participating in a Roda, and had a not-so-great time at Caribana. David (@franticstudio) made some fun beats using sounds from his commute on the “N” Train in NYC and theBeatMaker 2 App, and Megan recorded the sounds of getting OUT of the city (which inspired me to do the same), so I drove up north and parked at a cottage where I took a lovely canoe ride and encountered domesticated wildlife (ie: greedy chipmunks).

And now here we are! I’ve added a browse feature to the blog, as well as a ThingLink embedded map (a work in progress)! I’ve been having such a wonderful time exploring my city and listening to the sounds you’ve submitted, too, let’s keep the momentum going! I’m always looking for new sounds from your cities (Toronto or abroad) to feature on Sounds Of My City! So, the next time you’re out and about, visiting a new place, or just wandering around your neighborhood and you come across any unique sounds (good, bad or ugly) – I hope you’ll think of me and hit record! Share them with me by dropping them into the Sounds of My City group DropBox. You can also get in contact with me on Twitter @soundsofmycity or @katieneeds.

Eduardo Lipe – Without Walls Project

Since the start of the project I’ve ventured out and hit up a couple of the “star” public art spaces in New York City if you will, featuring sculptures in Union Square and Madison Square Park. I took you guys on a trip to the High Line Park where I not only encountered some commissioned public art but a more renegade one as well.

Since the project launch the maps that have been featured have had a cumulative view count of over 9000, with hundreds of plays on the tracks as well. Some of the more popular tracks have been around Andy Warhol, Jordan Betten, and Jaume Plensa,

So what’s next? I’ll be posting a lot more neighborhood finds this month and I’ll be taking a trip to one (probably two) cities on this side of the Atlantic! I’ll also be starting some new initiatives to get you guys involved and start putting up sounds from public art around the world. The site has received visitors from New York City to Romania so I know there is a lot of art to be discovered and shared with the world. Always remember user submissions are always welcome, just follow this link and find out more! Also stay tuned for today’s update, its probably my favorite recording of the project so far. Hover over this ThingLink-powered map for some recent recordings: