Student soundscape exhibit opens at the library
Published 9:46 am Wednesday, December 20, 2023
Student Traeden Gaskin stands next to his soundscape description and link at the exhibit. Photo submitted.
Students' soundscapes are shown on the wall with links that people can go to on their phones. Photo submitted.
Exhibit attendees listen to the soundscapes. Photo submitted.
Student Miles Henson stands with his soundscape link, titled "Michael's Closet." Photo submitted.
Local Author Heather Henson taught students about her book “Wrecked,” which inspired some of the students’ soundscapes. Photo by Mary Beth Touchstone
STAFF REPORT
A new multimedia exhibit at the Boyle County Library features soundscapes created by local students from Danville High School and Boyle County High School.
The exhibit is on display in the Georgia de Araujo Gallery on the main level of the library. It opened on Dec. 12 and will be on display through Jan. 13, 2024.
Students participated in a series of workshops by local author Heather Henson and artist Elizabeth Haigh. They read Henson’s young adult novel, “Wrecked,” which is about teenagers navigating life in rural Kentucky, in the midst of the opioid epidemic. The book features a character who creates soundscapes.
Students worked with Haigh to create soundscapes, which are recordings that combine a variety of sounds to evoke a particular location or mood. Students could record and combine everything from ambient noises and speaking, to beats and music, in order to tell a story or capture a mood.
At the exhibit, people can scan QR codes with the camera app on their smartphones to listen to the auditory art. Some students’ soundscapes were inspired by “Wrecked,” and some by other books.
The project received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Simon & Schuster Publishing, and Plaid Elephant Books.
There will be a closing reception on Jan. 11, 2024 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the library. Students will present their soundscapes at the reception, share what they learned, and light refreshments will be served.
