A Series of Listening Experiences Reflecting on Sound Art, Trauma & Mental Health Presented in Clunes
A Dense Mass is a public event program showcasing Clunes-based sound artist Thembi Soddell’s recent back catalogue and new works-in-progress focused on representing and understanding the felt mental impact of trauma, anxiety, depression and what might be labelled mental illness, through the intensity of abstract sound.
This program is taking place on Dja Dja Wurrung Country in Clunes and surrounds, developed as part of a Regional Arts Victoria Fellowship. It is being developed through a partnership between Thembi Soddell and Liquid Architecture, supported by Clunes Free Library and Clunes Neighbourhood House.
The fellowship research is grounded in the question: in what ways might a solo, experimental art practice be relevant, accessible and sustainable in a regional location? As well as the event program, the research will involve interviews with regional artists on issues around disability access, sustaining regional and rural practice, and the use of art to understand mental health, alongside experiments in remote methods of working and more. This research will be published in the research section of this website by the end of 2021.
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This project is supported by Monica Lim through Liquid Architecture’s Experiments Fund, Clunes Neighbourhood House, Clunes Free Library and Regional Arts Victoria, with Held Down, Expanding supported supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria. The Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund is provided through Regional Arts Australia, administered in Victoria by Regional Arts Victoria.