West LA Times

The UCLA Art|Sci Center will present "Atmosphere of Sound: Sonic Art in Times of Climate Disruption," a seven-exhibition program that merges sound art and science to explore climate-related issues. Running from September 14, 2024, through June 7, 2025, the program is part of Getty’s “PST ART: Art & Science Collide” initiative.

Victoria Vesna, director of the Art|Sci Center and co-curator with Los Angeles-based curator Anuradha Vikram, explained the program's objective: “Our goal is to highlight artists and scientists who have developed long-term collaborative relationships with one another. In this exhibition, we use sound to join the disciplines of art and science and to foster a deeper understanding of our many interconnected environments and cultures.”

The exhibition includes contributions from eight artists-in-residence at the Art|Sci Center — Sholeh Asgary, Patricia Cadavid, Bill Fontana, Yolande Harris, Anna Nacher, Joel Ong, Iman Person, and Robertina Šebjanič — along with projects by local artists Katie Grinnan, Rachel Mayeri, Christina McPhee, Amber Stucke, and Nina Waisman.

The program commences with Bill Fontana’s outdoor sound sculpture “Silent Echoes: Notre-Dame and the Dachstein Glacier,” amplified from UCLA’s Royce Hall from September 14 to October 5. The installation combines audio feeds from Notre Dame’s dormant bells in Paris and the Dachstein caves in Austria.

Fontana's work will be followed by six other exhibitions at the UCLA Art|Sci Center gallery:

- Oct. 4–Nov. 2: Katie Grinnan’s “The Sensitives” and Amber Stucke’s “Talking to Plants”

- Nov. 15–Dec. 14: Robertina Šebjanič’s “CO_SONIC 1884 km2”

- Jan. 10–Feb. 1, 2025: Yolande Harris’ “How You Shimmer: Sound Portal for Whale Bubbles”

- Feb. 14–March 15, 2025: Iman Person’s “Memory Garden” and Patricia Cadavid’s “Kanchay_Yupana//” and “Electronic_Khipu”

- April 4–26, 2025: Joel Ong’s “In Silence…”

- May 9–June 7, 2025: Sholeh Asgary’s “Qanat” and “Ghatel” along with Asgary + the Ad Hoc Collective for Improvising’s “Mourning Technologies for Future Griefs”

Additional events related to "Atmosphere of Sound" will take place across various campus locations including EDA in the Broad Arts Center, Sage Hill native plants habitat, Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden, Royce Hall, and Nimoy Theater.

Visitors are encouraged to use the "Atmosphere of Sound" website and app for navigation between venues. The app provides detailed information on exhibitions and programs as well as meditative soundwalks recorded by artist Anna Nacher.

Read the full "Atmosphere of Sound" press release for more details.