The surface of fresh water, and the habitats around it, provide a home for a huge number of sound-making creatures. Chirping, drumming, stridulating, grunting aquatic insects, fish and beetles. Above the water, there are sounds inaudible to humans - echolocating bats, screaming mice, and insects stridulating into the ultrasound range.

Some of these creatures live above or under the surface their whole lives; others pass between the two spaces, living their lives partly under and partly above the surface. Under the surface we can hear the surrounding environment, the speed of the water, the creatures movement and communication, the wind on the surface, stones moved by water, plants, tree roots. Stone flies play drum solos on sticks and branches to call out for mates - you can determine the species of Stone fly according to their drumming patterns. Waterboatmen are the loudest animals, proportionate to their size, that we know about. Vibrations are picked up in many different ways. Different temperatures at different times of day and night will make the environment sound different. Bubbles evaporate, plants make sound as they photosynthesise. Spiders fish for vibrations in their webs, sensitive to the exact vibrations caused by their prey.

Over five packed days, we'll explore all of these small (but in many ways large) environments through recording, listening and observing above, under and around water, in audible and inaudible ranges, in different frequency areas. We'll listen from different perspectives, and in different ways, with amplification and without.

Jana Winderen is an artist based in Norway with a background in mathematics, chemistry and fish ecology. Her practice pays particular attention to audio environments and to creatures which are hard for humans to access, both physically and aurally – deep under water, inside ice or in frequency ranges inaudible to the human ear. Her activities include site-specific and spatial audio installations and concerts, which have been exhibited and performed internationally in major institutions and public spaces. Recent work includes The Art of Listening: Underwater at Lenfest Center for the Arts, Colombia University, New York, Listening through the Dead Zones for IHME, Helsinki, The Art of Listening: Underwater for Audemar Piguet at Art Basel, Miami, Rising Tide at Kunstnernes Hus in Oslo, Listening with Carp for Now is the Time in Wuzhen, Through the Bones for Thailand Art Biennale in Krabi, bára for TBA21_Academy, Spring Bloom in the Marginal Ice Zone for Sonic Acts, Dive in Park Avenue Tunnel in New York and Ultrafield for MoMA, New York. In 2011 she won the Golden Nica at Ars Electronica for Digital Musics & Sound Art. She releases her audio-visual work on Touch (UK).

For a great introduction to Jana's practice, check out this BBC program on her work.



WHERE AND WHEN?

The course takes place at our residential centre in Aulus les Bains. It's two hours south of Toulouse, high in the French Pyrenees, very near the border with Spain. For detailed travel information, see the transport section. The course starts on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. We advise that you arrive the evening before (20/08/2024) - dinner and accommodation that night is included. The course runs for five days, ending on Sunday night. Accommodation on Sunday night is included, then we leave on Monday morning (26/08/2024). If you decide to take the minibus with us, you will be picked- up in Toulouse at 6pm on 20/08/2024, and will be back in Toulouse at 11am on 26/08/2024.

You'll also have the option to stay at CAMP an additional 7 nights, following the workshop, for an additional cost of $0. Hang out, do some hiking, use our facilities, work on your projects and process the content of the workshop at your own pace. In 2024, just over 50% of participants stayed for the +7. We expect that number to increase in 2025 - don't miss out on the extra fun! Read more about the +7 option here.

HOW TO BOOK

To book your place on the course, click the button in the green section above. You won't pay anything right now - we'll send you a booking confirmation email with everything you need to know next. Your place is reserved without payment for three days.

You'll find a payment link in the booking confirmation email - follow the link to make a payment (either in full, or the first payment of a month payment plan). In the latter case, a monthly payment plan will be put in place, so your card will be charged 1/ of the fee today, and 1/ each month (on the same day) for an additional -1 months. All card payments are handled by Stripe, and are extremely secure. We don't store any card data ourselves - all of this is handled securely off-site by Stripe. If you have a discount or grant code, you will be able to add it when you follow the payment link in your confirmation email.

Once you've made a payment, you'll receive another email containing your receipt, links to resources, contact information and access to our group chat to discuss the workshop with other participants.