Abstract
The portfolio and research use a multi-method qualitative approach to study a range of Covid-19 sonic experiences through auto-hermeneutics and ethnographic strategies.During the Covid-19 lockdowns in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which started on March 23, 2020. The research began four days later to capture an immediate response to the changes in the urban sonic environment and preserve the experiences encountered with the pandemic. Part of this research extended to a visit to Montreal, Canada, and the continuation of the pandemic in Belfast from 2020-2022. Throughout these times, the material aided in producing and forming the Sounding Covid-19 Repository, which hosts all soundscape compositions. The repository focuses on Belfast’s Lockdowns (1-3 in 2020-2021), Exit Strategies (Summers 2020 and 2021), Lifted Restrictions (2022), and Montreal’s lockdown visit in 2020-2021. In total, there have been 91 soundscape compositions produced across 27 locations.
As time passed, several Calls for Work inspired the idea of sharing and distributing the material for others to learn about the restrictions faced. Contributing to online platforms such as soundmaps and other experiences enabled information sharing on a global scale of the current crisis I was experiencing. There is also a focus on the on-site experiences by designing soundwalking activities with mobile apps that allow participants to reflect on past sounds from the repository material in a modern context.
In addition, there is a re-exploration of the Sounding Covid-19 Repository focused on creating pandemic-related compositions and collaborative projects, expanding the purposes of only creating a repository and showing how repositories foster other creative initiatives. The projects and creative pieces bring attention to the regulations issued, the isolated moments within the city, and reflections of changes in everyday life impacting areas such as history, socio-cultural lifestyle, politics, and representation of a crisis through sound.
There are various methods to understand how audio materials serve as a form of documentation for an event, how they aid in the growth of personal and collective knowledge, and how integrating research strategies can enhance inquiry in times of crisis for both research and portfolio purposes.
| Date of Award | Jul 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Northern Ireland Department for the Economy |
| Supervisor | Pedro Rebelo (Supervisor) & John D'Arcy (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Auto-Hermeneutics
- Ethnographic
- Multi-Method Qualitative
- Covid-19
- Pandemic Soundscapes
- Knowledge
- Transcendental Idealism
- Reflexive Thematic Analysis
- Sound Art
- Urban Art
- Soundscape Composition
- Field Recording
- Soundwalking
- Listening
- Crisis
- Auto-Methodologies
- Soundmaps
- Soundscape Studies
- Acoustic Ecology
- Urban Space
- Urban Place
- Sonic Arts
- Electroacoustic Composition
- Audio-Photographic Soundscapes
- Repository
- Archive
- Hermeneutic Analysis