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Sonic Walks

Hello, I’m Camille Turner. I’m an artist working with media and performance art. I am most known for my performance persona, the iconic beauty queen, Miss Canadiana. Most recently, I have combined sound and walking to explore histories and geographies hidden within the Canadian landscape. I draw from history to create what I refer to as sonic walks that map and animate stories of Canada’s early Black settlers so they can be experienced while wearing headphones and walking in the spaces where history unfolded.

MIss Canadiana's Heritage and Culture Walking Tour

I’ve designed this sonic walk toolkit for educators interested in using sonic walks as an experiential education tool to explore a variety of topics in engaging ways outside the classroom. Through information, examples and step-by-step instructions in this kit, you will gain insights into how you can create your own walks and incorporate sonic explorations into your lesson plans. I also share a journal I created while documenting my experience of my first sonic walk to give you a sense of the challenges and rewards of using this form.Sonic walks are utilized in fields such as geography, history, art, social studies and museology. They can take a variety of forms and are known by many names such as: sound walks, audio walks, pod walks, i-tours and place-based digital stories. These mobile site-specific participatory practices usually incorporate spoken, written or performed instructions to guide an interactive, multi-sensory journey through space.

Educational Uses for Sonic Walks

A list of a few of the many ways sonic walks can be used in education.

Lesson Plan Example PDF 1
Lesson Plan Example PDF 2

The two types of sonic walks I will focus on in this kit are Sonic Explorations and Place Based Narratives

Sonic Explorations

These types of sonic walks are unscripted and exploratory. They are usually presented as a group activity and although they can be recorded, technology is not essential. The idea is to invite participants to tune into the rhythms and melodies in the sonic world we are immersed in but are rarely aware of. I've included some prompts for you to print out below. You can use them to help you facilitate the experience of listening and walking together. Some prompts are concrete and physical while others are more conceptual and abstract. Mix them up or choose whatever sparks the imagination of the group you are working with. I've also included a blank template so you can write and print your own.

Place Based Narratives

Stories offer a powerful way to investigate place. This type of walk is mapped to a specific place and guided by a sound/voice recording. (Butler, 2006, p. 889) The participant listens to the sound file while walking in the place where the story unfolds. Technological developments are constantly creating new ways to deliver mobile sound. Some walks are experienced through headphones using binaural sound mapped in 3 dimensions, while others, like Graeme Miller's Linked, (see below) use radio transmitters and receivers.

Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller: Walks
http://www.cardiffmiller.com/artworks/walks/

Platform Collective: And While London Burns
http://andwhilelondonburns.com/download

SoundWalk Collective: Audio tours
http://www.soundwalk.com/#/TOURS

Camille Turner: HUSH HARBOUR
http://afrofuturist.tumblr.com/post/30089731350/hush-harbour-is-an-afrofuturist-sonicwalk-that

Olivier Choinerre: Article on his controversial intervention in a theatre production
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/how-olivier-choiniere-committed-theatrical-rape/article4096773/

Kim Stringfellow: Projects
http://www.kimstringfellow.com/projects

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