Choreography of Sound – Between Abstraction and Narration

The ARD Radio Play Days is a festival hosted every year by the ZKM in Karlsruhe which culminates in the presentation of the German Radio Play Awards. To celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2013, the organisers of the most important radio play festival in the German-speaking region went beyond the successful formats of the past and hosted an international symposium titled “Choreography of Sound – Between Abstraction and Narration”. The event explored the aesthetic possibilities of acoustic art in connection with other art forms; radio play producers met with sound poets, theorists, theatre and filmmakers, writers, composers and performance artists whose works go beyond the boundaries of established genres. What role do sounds, noises, language, rhythm and music play in their works and thought processes? What influence do technical innovations have on forms of narration and reception? These and other questions have been addressed in lectures, art slams, workshops and discussions by renowned artists and scholars such as John Giorno, Tino Sehgal, Julian Treasure, Peter Weibel and Peter Sloterdijk. By encouraging a productive exchange among artists, the symposium aimed to generate new impulses for the radio play genre. A bilingual publication containing a summary of the lectures, discussions and results of the symposium was also planned.

The project has also commissioned the American director Robert Wilson, known for his penchant for experimentation, to produce a radio play event which combines a variety of art forms. Wilson’s project has been presented live during the ARD Radio Play Days.

Artistic Directors: Ekkehard Skoruppa, Hans Sarkowicz
Curators: Gaby Hartel, Marie-Luise Goerke
Management Organisations: Mareike Maage
Project Management: Frank Halbig
Artists: Anne Katrin Dolven (NOR), John Giorno (US), Daniel Teruggi (FR), Peter Weibel (A), Robert Wilson (US) and others.