Abstract
Before we could see, we could hear. Each of us was born out of an underwater environment, our mother’s womb. In that darkness, there was sound—our mother’s heartbeat, breathing, perhaps bubbles. As a species, our senses shape our concept of identity and our world. Presented here will be a soundscape performance installation entitled “Hawaiian Star Compass- Mahalo Sea & Stars, Giving Thanks to the Koholā Nation”. This project implemented a 10-week interdisciplinary, co-creating model where students in the Kula ‘Amakihi program at the Volcano School of Arts & Sciences teamed up with Native Skywatchers Nonprofit to design and deliver a professional-level design project. Students conceptualized and then fabricated a solution to the challenge: (1). How do you express mahalo/put down thanks for life through soundscape using whale song, the star compass, mo’olelo, and movement? (2). Can you create empathy through soundscape performance to show our human kuleana (responsibility) to ocean/land/sky environments? In the era of the Anthropocene, the real-time effects of the global climate crisis and animal extinction are increasingly common. Plastic pollution, forever chemicals, ocean acidification, deforestation, and the ever-growing list are enough to make anyone stop reading and walk away. This exhibit dares to reimagine our growing disconnection from nature, aims to foster a renewed sense of connection with the cosmos and increased clarity on our human roles and responsibilities. By centering Indigenous practices and knowledge alongside art as social practice and Western science practices, we hold the ‘gift of multiple perspectives for the benefit of all’.
Presenters
Annette LeeFounder and Director, Indigenous Astronomy Revitalization: Science | Art | Culture, Native Skywatchers 501c3 Nonprofit, Minnesota, United States Barbara Sarbin
Director, Something Good in the World, Hawaii, United States Tavia La Follette
Co-Director of the MFA program, Curator of CoLab, Assistant Professor, Theatre , Towson University
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
2025 Special Focus—Oceanic Journeys: Multicultural Approaches in the Humanities
KEYWORDS
Art as Social Practice; Interdisciplinary; Motion Media Design; Indigenous Knowledge
