My contribution “Don’t Disrupt the Animals” will be presented on Sunday 19 May as part of Walk The Plank’s Hidden Canals Soundwalk event on 18 & 19 May. Featuring the imaginations and voices of Year 5 children at St Philips School in Salford along with some lovely funky drums by my Euro collaborating artist Wytse Dijklstra.

Alongside 7 other sound and music pieces responding to the theme of canal going through Salford, the works are also available via the Echoes app as part of a sound walk along the canal as well as on Mixcloud. 

Click here to visit Walk the Plank Hidden Canals project page

Download the Hidden Canals sound walk in Salford on Echoes app

A new commission for 2024. After working more as the Mama and midwife of others’ art in 2023 via my work with Delia Derbyshire Day and others, I am enjoying centring my work on creative communications anew. After beavering away in Manchester for over 15 years with my sonic adventuring, I finally work with Walk the Plank, as so many other MCR creatives have done.

This project is all about the Manchester, Bury and Bolton Canal. It actually went through Salford but they didn’t think Salford sounded as sexy as Manchester when they were looking for investment to build the canal. It is the Salford section of the canal that we are animating here, for an 8 location sound walk taking place on 18 and 19 May. I’m co-creating a piece with some school children, unlocking their imaginations as they create characters who are part of the non-human community by the old canal. My location is truly hidden and without water, it just looks like a derelict end of a road next to rubbish tips and scrapyards. But as one child narrates, this place may seem “drab”, but it is in fact teeming with life…just not human ones. The other 7 locations will be animated with music and audio by a lovely bunch of Salford/Greater Manchester artists and fellow Europeans. 

Part of the project is about European collaborations, which have been hindered somewhat since Brexit and Covid for many of us. I have been matched with Wytse Dijkstra who is from Leeuwarden in North Netherlands – a city rich in canals. I visited Leeuwarden, travelling by train. Wytse is the co-founder and project leader of Creative Embassies, a European exchange network fostering collaboration among young artists, musicians, and creatives which I am excited to be part of – Ich suis Europeana after all.

 

Click here to visit Walk the Plank Hidden Canals project page including

listening to the tracks all 8 artists created