FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – SOUTH RIVER, ON – May 21, 2026: New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) announces the 28th edition of the Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art with performances, installations and a 4-day workshop intensive.
“The inability of the human ear to function efficiently underwater does not limit us from being fascinated by it, nor to developing the tools we need to extend our senses and expand the boundaries of our aesthetic experience. This years’ Sound Travels events explore the ‘Sound Culture’ of Water—how the sound of water is shaped by its cultural use, spiritual practices and human engineering” — Darren Copeland, Artistic Director, New Adventures in Sound Art
Sound Travels Launches with Pride Concert
The opening concert will be presented at 6 pm on June 6 at NAISA and is sponsored by Almaguin Pride. Kat Estacio and Barry Truax are 2SLGBTQI+ sound artists from different generations. Both of their works on the concert investigate cultural myth-making inspired by nature.
Kat Estacio is a Toronto-based soundmaker that is a member of the Filipinx gong art-pop group Pantayo. Estacio’s performance will draw from their experience in Kulintang, an Indigenous gong ensemble music tradition from Mindanao (Southern Philippines) as well as their perspective of living in communities adjacent to large bodies of water.
Barry Truax has been a leader in the fields of Acoustic Ecology and Electroacoustic Music, and recently he has been awarded the Order of Canada for his achievements in these areas. His Elemental Trilogy of works for 8 digital soundtracks feature his very personal response to elemental sounds in his three works What the Waters Told Me, How the Winds Caressed Me and When the Earth Mourned for Me. His video work Androgyne, Mon Amour (made in 1997 for Bassist Robert Black) will be screened for in-person audiences prior to the concert from 5 to 6 pm and for those online will be screened afterwards.
Summer Long Exhibition
From June 11 to September 7, the interactive sound sculpture Waterscape by Lina Choi, will be exhibited in the NAISA Gallery. Waterscape produces water-like sounds through small motor-driven devices. Each element creates subtle drops and flows, forming an evolving, immersive sound environment that blurs the line between the natural and the artificial. The surrounding sounds invite listeners to slow down and experience a shifting sonic landscape.
Also being exhibited at NAISA is the permanent sound sculpture Voice of the Water by Eric Powell. Voice of the Water is a community-made collection of recordings of the lakes and rivers in the South River area which can all be accessed by dialing a single digit on a rotary telephone.
While you are at NAISA, step outside to discover the natural resonance of tubing in the Sensation of Distribution by Mitchell Akiyama and Brady Peters or join Executive Director Nadene Theriault-Copeland on the second Sunday of June/July/August from 1-3 pm to improvise on the Decomposing Piano.
Make Sound Art in Nature
NAISA will be presenting a four-day Workshop Intensive where participants will create an outdoor sound art work that responds to the soundscape of a forest or the lakeside areas of Warbler’s Roost, during a rural retreat in Lount Township on Deer Lake, 22 KM west of South River. The workshop will be facilitated by NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland and there will be guest sessions led by Sundridge multi-disciplinary artist Christine Charette, the passionate naturalist, forester, and birder Fred Pinto from North Bay and Meaford sound installation artist Gordon Monahan.
About NAISA
New Adventures in Sound Art is a non-profit media art organization that operates the NAISA North Media Arts Centre & Café in South River Ontario, Canada. NAISA is funded in part by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council and the Department of Canadian Heritage and from the generous contributions of private individuals and companies.
What: Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art
Where: NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
When: June 6 to September 7, 2026
Cost: Pay by Donation for exhibition, $15 for Concert, $678/495 for Workshop
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