Fiera del Suono

 

 

BETTER SOUND 2024 | Categories: Soundscapes & Ambient Sound, Sound Art

 

Entrant

DROPSTUFF MEDIA

 

Abstract

Fiera del Suono, The Echoes of the Carnival Chronicles. Step right up to an immersive art extravaganza! Picture this: colossal inflatable abstractions of carnival wonders, pulsating with history through spatial and location-driven sound, projected animations and smells. Journey through the centuries, as the carnival emerges as a hub.

 

Description

In Fiera del Suono, one journeys through the centuries, as the carnival emerges as a hub for diverse arts like live theater and dance, while showcasing groundbreaking inventions like photography, steam engines, electricity, virtual realities. A crystal ball-toting fortune teller guides you on a time-traveling adventure, where the symphony of artists, circus horses, barrel organs, roller coasters and AI-prophets propels you into the future. Immerse yourself in a dynamic auditory landscape, equipped with location-based audio via open headphones and a spatial soundscape resonating from sixty speakers, Move around, and the narrative unfolds, revealing different chapters of this mesmerizing story. The story goes back from the traveling circus in the 18th century, the inventions of mechanical instruments like the barrel organ in the late 19th century, photography, steam engine and electricity in the 20th century till Artificial Intelligence in the present and future.

Spatial Audio Experience
Crafted by the media art collective DROPSTUFF MEDIA in collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, Stadsmuseum Tilburg, Usomo Berlin and student groups from leading institutions, including the University of Applied Sciences Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, and Fontys School of Arts Tilburg, Fiera del Suono is more than an art project – it’s a journey through sound, vision, smell and time. This initiative is part of two research programs in The Netherlands: ‘InnovationLabs’ and ‘DigitALL’. Fiera del Suono’s mission is to bring cultural heritage collections and artistic narratives closer to a wider audience. In recent years, audio has emerged as a powerful medium, with technological advancements enabling richer and more immersive experiences. The project draws on audio archival materials from The Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision, the Regional Archive Tilburg and private audio collections, featuring voiceovers by esteemed artists.

The project started in 2023 with a first presentation in Tilburg, the Dutch city with the biggest yearly fairground of the Benelux. Next to the real carnival, this artistic experience was presented to the public and press in the new city library within a 350 m2 corridor in a daylight surrounding. In October 2023 a second iteration was presented in the Amsterdam Art Fair BigART and the third in the Netherlands Institute of Sound and Vision for the wider public in February 2024, where also artificial lights and projections were used. A fourth presentation took place at SXSW, Austin Texas. The final iteration will take place in a complete darkened circus tent in June 2024, after which the project will travel. DROPSTUFF MEDIA is a media art collective, creators of immersive arts and interactive experiences. They create scenarios that encourage people to truly experience the rich stories of cultural heritage, the imagination of the arts and the wonderment of new and experimental technologies.
 

Project video