Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums
This article reports on the experimental methodology and key findings of the AHRC-funded impact and engagement project Sonic Futures: Collecting, Curating and Engaging with Sound at the National Science and Media Museum (2020–21). The project undertook a series of listening-based public engagement a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Science Museum, London
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Science Museum Group Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/browse/issue-17/staging-listening/ |
| _version_ | 1818197903079899136 |
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| author | James Mansell Alexander De Little Annie Jamieson |
| author_facet | James Mansell Alexander De Little Annie Jamieson |
| author_sort | James Mansell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article reports on the experimental methodology and key findings of the AHRC-funded impact and engagement project Sonic Futures: Collecting, Curating and Engaging with Sound at the National Science and Media Museum (2020–21). The project undertook a series of listening-based public engagement activities – described here as staging listening – to identify new ways of engaging listening audiences with sound technology objects in museums. These activities led to the creation of three new interactive sounding exhibit prototypes created jointly with audiences. Because the project took place during periods of lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the UK in 2020–21, the exhibit prototypes were created digitally and tested via online interaction. The article argues that engaging with listening audiences can diversify and enrich museum listening scenarios, a term we use here to describe auditory situations which elicit different kinds of listening attention, interaction and learning. These listening scenarios produce divergent signatures of listening, a concept we develop here to describe the various kinds of learning and engagement we observed throughout the project. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:57:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1fe3f74aba844316870d8bccda2666f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5770 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T01:57:22Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Science Museum, London |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Science Museum Group Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-1fe3f74aba844316870d8bccda2666f82022-12-22T00:42:18ZengScience Museum, LondonScience Museum Group Journal2054-57702022-04-011710.15180/221704Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museumsJames Mansell0Alexander De Little1Annie Jamieson2University of NottinghamUniversity of NottinghamNational Museum of Science and MediaThis article reports on the experimental methodology and key findings of the AHRC-funded impact and engagement project Sonic Futures: Collecting, Curating and Engaging with Sound at the National Science and Media Museum (2020–21). The project undertook a series of listening-based public engagement activities – described here as staging listening – to identify new ways of engaging listening audiences with sound technology objects in museums. These activities led to the creation of three new interactive sounding exhibit prototypes created jointly with audiences. Because the project took place during periods of lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic in the UK in 2020–21, the exhibit prototypes were created digitally and tested via online interaction. The article argues that engaging with listening audiences can diversify and enrich museum listening scenarios, a term we use here to describe auditory situations which elicit different kinds of listening attention, interaction and learning. These listening scenarios produce divergent signatures of listening, a concept we develop here to describe the various kinds of learning and engagement we observed throughout the project. http://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/browse/issue-17/staging-listening/audiencesaudiobbc radiophonic workshopechoexhibition prototypinglisteningnational science and media museumsoundsound archivessound postcardssound technology |
| spellingShingle | James Mansell Alexander De Little Annie Jamieson Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums Science Museum Group Journal audiences audio bbc radiophonic workshop echo exhibition prototyping listening national science and media museum sound sound archives sound postcards sound technology |
| title | Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| title_full | Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| title_fullStr | Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| title_full_unstemmed | Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| title_short | Staging listening: new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| title_sort | staging listening new methods for engaging audiences with sound in museums |
| topic | audiences audio bbc radiophonic workshop echo exhibition prototyping listening national science and media museum sound sound archives sound postcards sound technology |
| url | http://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/browse/issue-17/staging-listening/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamesmansell staginglisteningnewmethodsforengagingaudienceswithsoundinmuseums AT alexanderdelittle staginglisteningnewmethodsforengagingaudienceswithsoundinmuseums AT anniejamieson staginglisteningnewmethodsforengagingaudienceswithsoundinmuseums |