Greatest global celebration of sound walks starts on Sound Walk Sunday, 1 September 2019.

MEDIA RELEASE - IMMEDIATE - 27 August, 2019

Greatest global celebration of sound walks starts on Sound Walk Sunday, 1 September 2019.

With more than 60 live events and scores of self-guided walks the London-based Museum of Walking and the global Made of Walking network launch a month-long celebration of sound walks starting Sunday 1 September 2019.

From Vancouver in the west, where you are invited to play the tension wires of the Burrard Bridge as a percussionist, to Queensland in the east, where aboriginal communities come together to share their stories, there are live events across the globe, more than 30 alone taking place on Sound Walk Sunday (1 September).

Just what is a sound walk? You may ask. A sound walk, or walking piece, is any walk that focuses on listening to the environment, with or without the use of technology, or adds to the experience through the use of sound or voice. This can include a scripted or choreographed score or work that has additional audio elements.

“We are humbled by the number of artists and producers from all over the world who have contributed a vast number and huge variety of Sound Walks, such that we are fast approaching a full September of events, rather than our initial Sound Walk Sunday!” Andrew Stuck, founder of the Museum of Walking, and Sound Walk Sunday co-producer.

To illustrate the variety of sound walk events on offer, you can join a group of sound artists as they capture the sounds and silences of the world largest and Britain’s most famous library; participate in a choreographical walk event that takes place simultaneously in Oxford Street, London and downtown Boston, USA; dance amongst the trees in Chichester, walk through the night or practice a Chinese audial meditation in the Polish city of Krakow; immerse yourself in an audio-drama played out on a bus route in London or in Cape Town; or becoming a tortoise as you follow it through the Botanic Garden in Athens; or sing your heart out on a walk in a palm house in a botanic garden in Belfast.

Can you stop fidgeting, cease the chatter, or turn off your smartphone for very long? Many of the events encourage you to try your hand at ‘deep listening’ to your surroundings. There are silent walks in Berlin, Germany; Frome, Somerset; Birmingham, West Midlands; and Krakow, Poland. You can listen to the haunting sounds of a saxophone as it is played on a walk along a canal, or listen to the trees in a rainforest, or a hidden London river as it flows beneath the streets.

You can vote for your favourite - any sound walk produced in 2019 and included in Sound Walk September is eligible for an Award decided upon by public vote. There’s a second Award decided by a professional jury vote.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Sound Walk Sunday takes place on Sunday 1 September and launches a month-long Sound Walk September celebration of listening and sound walks.
2. Museum of Walking is the brainchild of Andrew Stuck, a London-based walking artist
3. Made of Walking is a global network and nomadic gathering for walking and sound practices, now in its 6th edition, with main encounters and satellite events extending to cities and places around the world.
4. Sound walking events are being run independently by individuals and collectives and have been submitted to the Museum of Walking in the last 4 months.
5. The Museum holds a publicly accessible directory of more than 150 sound walks and provides tips on how to make a sound walk of your own, as well as running ‘walkshops’ (workshops on foot) encouraging and demonstrating how to make sound walks.
6. Event map and listing can be found here:
   https://www.museumofwalking.org.uk/events/categories/sound-walk-sunday-2019/
7. Directory map and listing can be found here:
   https://www.museumofwalking.org.uk/walkingpiece_tag/sws19/
8. Voting is open to everyone at the URL above.
9. Media Resource pack and images available here:
   https://www.museumofwalking.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Sound-Walk-Sunday-2019-Media-Resource.pdf