Soundmapping project to create community art on Camelon's Forth and Clyde Canal
A new research project is set to create sound art in the communities and natural spaces located along the banks of the historic Forth and Clyde Canal in Camelon.
Over the next three years, local artist, musician and architect Andrew J. Brooks will work with Scottish Canals and local people on a new Canal Listening Project.
The aim is to engage local communities to produce an ecological, and cultural soundmap of the area around the canal. Participants will work with Andrew to record their stories and the sounds of the canal environment producing sound art and installations.
Andrew’s, project is entitled Presentation of Acoustic Ecology through Community Co-Produced Sound Mapping in Human and Non-Human Spaces.
It forms part of his PhD at Queen’s University Belfast at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Sound and Music (SARC) and is funded by a UK Department for the Economy studentship.
Andrew said: “I am eager to begin working with Scottish Canals and the communities around the canal. The sounds of the environment where we live hold so much cultural significance for us.
“They can help us understand so much about ourselves and the world we share with our communities, both human and non-human. The canals are a rich cultural and ecological setting to develop this research and make artwork with the local communities.”
For Scottish Canals, the project supports their ongoing mission to maintain Scotland’s historic waterways as vibrant spaces for art, culture, community life, leisure and nature for generations to come.
Richard Millar, chief operating officer at Scottish Canals, said: “When Andrew approached us with this unique research concept, we were curious and excited to imagine where an exploration of canal soundscapes could lead.
“Scotland’s canals are extraordinary blue-green corridors, vital for the mental and physical wellbeing of communities. Part of their magic lies in the subtle yet captivating sounds – the gentle lap of water, the chirrup of birds, and even the playful splash of otters and water voles.
"This collaboration is a fantastic opportunity to let Andrew and local communities explore and record the sounds they love and cherish along Scotland’s canals.”