When I met Anne Bourne in person for the first time over a year ago, she told me about a kind of listening that she has learned from Pauline Oliveros: walk as if your feet were ears.
A few weeks ago, the FEELed Lab was lucky to gather a group of students, faculty and community members (ranging from one-and-half decades to seven+ decades in age!) for a workshop led by Anne: we met at the gates to the EcoCulture centre, and learned about how we might tune our bodies to the land, and to each other. We stood in a circle, facing outwards, shoulders touching, and tried to resonate.
This was followed by a listening walk — slowly, gently, resonating — down the road and into the FEELed Lab area. I saw three pale blue butterflies, and noticed for the first time the mildly dramatic incline of the road as it turns the corner. Fallen pine needles scissored still-bear Saskatoon Berry branches.
As we found our way to a clearing, we used our voices in ways that were likely unaccustomed for many of us – finding sounds in the environment, marking them, resonating with them, allowing them their space. Back to back, we leaned into the sounds of each other.
After the workshop, we convened upstairs in the Lab for dinner and conversation. Most of stayed for the first underground screening (!) of Deep Listening: The Story of Pauline Oliveros, directed by Daniel Weintraub, Produced by IONE.
We look forward to Anne’s return, next time!
The FEELed lab 