Seaham voices to be used in new project

Photo: Rebecca Louise Collins and Johanna Linsley/Pybus.
Photo: Rebecca Louise Collins and Johanna Linsley/Pybus.

Two artists are using overheard voices, conversations and sounds to create a new piece of music inspired by the town and people of Seaham.

The project, called Stolen Voices, is being led by Johanna Linsley and Rebecca Louise Collins.

They will be working with local community groups and members of the public to gather snippets of conversations which will then be turned into a piece of music.

The music will be performed in Seaham later in the year.

Johanna Linsley, said: “We’ve called the project Stolen Voices as it’s all about listening, overhearing and the divisions between public places and private conversations.

“At the same time, we want to use listening to celebrate how sound makes a place unique.”

Specially made computer terminals will be placed in public locations in Seaham where members of the public can input pieces of overheard conversations to be a part of the project.

The two artists are also carrying out workshops with various Seaham community groups over the next few weeks, where they will explain more about the project and how people can get involved.

Rebecca Louise Collins said: “Every day we all negotiate the borders between public and private, as part of living together in a town or a city. We all overhear things and add our own thoughts and interpretations to what we hear.

“At the same time, surveillance and privacy are important topics for everyone today and we want Stolen Voices to prompt people to think more about the lines between public and private spaces.”

People can use the Stolen Voices computer terminal in Seaham Library to submit overheard conversations throughout April.

Newcastle-based composer Mariam Rezaie will then work with the artists on creating the piece of music, which will be performed at an event on 8 May at local café Roobarb ‘n Custard.

The artists hope to carry out similar projects in other North East locations later in the year.

Stolen Voices is supported using public funding by Arts Council England, in partnership with East Durham Creates, Helix Arts and Sound & Music.

For more details you can contact yourstolenvoice@gmail.com.

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