Anja Lauvdal: Close-Proximity Soundscapes

Field of Study: Artistic Research

Working with local nature has the potential for strong emotional attachment and therefore also a wish to preserve, both as artists and listeners. Lauvdal also wants to look at how improvisation, with the starting point being democratic intra-action, listening and intuitivity in real time, might contribute to opening the senses of both performer and audience, as opposed to how a thoroughly composed work would approach the same challenge.

The project asks the following research questions:

• What happens when the raw material for improvisation is based on mutual synthesis between local nature and music?
• How can this music help lead to concrete action when it comes to caring for and/or restoring local nature?

Lauvdal wants to investigate these questions through several methods: Artistic process and concerts followed by written reflections and in-depth interviews of contributing artists and listeners.

The project is motivated by a deep curiosity and dedication to green artistic research, and wants to contribute to a broader understanding of what effects this work potentially can have, both on the artist, the artist's artistic field and on society in general.