River Listening explores the creative possibilities of aquatic bioacoustics and the potential for new approaches in the conservation of global river systems. Join us in Paris to listen to live underwater microphones (hydrophones) and augmented reality sound walks along the Seine River.

River Listening inspires community engagement through interactive listening labs, field recordings, sound maps, immersive performances, interactive sound installations and virtual reality experiences. It combines digital technologies and creativity to connect communities and inspire environmental stewardship.

At COP21, our sound walks along the Seine will allow you to listen to the rivers of the world. Discover the Amazon River Dolphin in central Brazil, pilgrims chanting at dusk on the banks of the Pamba in southern India or Indigenous elders speaking about iconic rivers across Australia. River Listening explores rivers as the lifeblood of communities and underscores the value of listening in our current state of ecological uncertainty, weaving diverse cultural and natural soundscapes along the banks of the Seine River.

To experience River Listening in Paris you will need a mobile device and headphones. You can access the soundscapes via two free mobile applications Recho and Podwalk, with Recho being our core application for iOS and android users. The installations run 24 hours a day and can be accessed anytime throughout COP21. If you would like to join a guided sound walk or meet our team on the ground in Paris, please use the contact page on our website or follow #RiverListening or @LeahBarclay on twitter.

National Science Week is Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology. Running each year in August, it features more than 1000 events around Australia, including those delivered by universities, schools, research institutions, libraries, museums and science centres. These events attract a wide audience from children to adults, and science amateurs to professionals. Over one million people participate in science events across the nation.

Estalished in 1997, National Science Week provides an opportunity to acknowledge the contributions of Australian scientists’ to the world of knowledge. It also aims to encourage an interest in science pursuits among the general public, and to encourage younger people to be fascinated by the world we live in.

As part of National Science Week, River Listening is hosting events along the Brisbane River in collaboration with IGNITE.

IGNITE Celebrate National Science Week across the Cultural Precinct in SouthBank.

River Listening Sound Walks

When Sunday 16 August 10am, 12pm, 2pm

Where Meet in the Queensland Museum Level 2 in front of the cloakroom desk at the National Science Week Banner.

Cost Free

River Listening is an interdisciplinary project exploring the art and science of listening to rivers. Join the River Listening team on a sound walk along the Brisbane river to learn about the project and explore aquatic soundscapes. Participants will also experience a demo of the River Listening sound installation and explore a hidden world of sound throughout South Bank Parklands.

The Balance-Unbalance 2015 International conference theme, ‘Water, Climate, Place: Re-Imagining Environments’ is aimed to provoke discussion and reflection on how the climate is changing and what our future might hold.  It does so by directing trans-disciplinary thought and action as tools for positive change.

Led by the arts and humanities, Balance-Unbalance 2015 international conference is a three-day conference which will took place March 27-29, 2015 at the ASU Tempe Campus, in Arizona. It brought multiple disciplines together with submissions from 24 countries and a keynote lineup of high profile presenters from business, art,music and acoustic ecology, the Red Cross, water research and community engagement with rain forest initiatives in South America.

The intersections between nature, art, science, new technologies, aid agencies and society are formed with the goal of developing cross-disciplinary initiatives using innovative art and technology to advance ecological awareness and sustainability practices to inspire wide-ranging community engagement in the face of unprecedented environmental challenges. Previous conferences have produced collaborations with the Red Cross as a competition for musical works in support of their global campaigns on Climate Change.   The 2013 conference witnessed the forming of a project to address the complexity of moving entire communities in the Pacific Island country of Vanuatu who are affected by rising sea levels.

Founded by Argentinian-born artist and scholar Ricardo Dal Farra in 2010 to promote novel forms of creativity that can help solve environmental problems, Balance-Unbalance has been sponsored by UNESCO, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, Leonardo Journal: The International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology, the National University of Tres de Febrero, Argentina (2010), Concordia University, Canada (2011), Central Queensland University, and the Noosa Biosphere in Australia (2013).

“We are living in a world at the tipping point, where the equilibrium between a healthy environment and the energy our society needs to maintain or improve its lifestyle and its interconnected economies could collapse more quickly than expected. Today’s delicate balance is at a critical point with the potential to herald a new reality where unbalance is the rule. The conference envisions the arts as a catalyst for reimagining our current environments.”

Leah Barclay is a member of the executive committee in addition to curating the virtual program for Balance-Unbalance 2015. She is also involved in a variety of events throughout the conference ranging from performing at the Art Gallery Opening to speaking on multiple panels about her latest research. Leah presented a paper on the River Listening project and outcomes from Synapse, the abstract in available here. The paper is titled “River Listening: Creative Approaches to Aquatic Bioacoustics in Australian River Systems”

Leah has also been actively developing several long-term Balance-Unbalance projects that will be presented in Arizona, including a project called CONNECTING COMMUNITIES, a new approach to the Balance-Unbalance 2015 Welcoming Ceremonies that connects the local community with the Noosa Biosphere Reserve in Australia and remote pacific Islands in the Republic of Vanuatu.

At Balance-Unbalance 2013, Lyndon Davis and Gubbi Gubbi Dance opened and closed the conference with a traditional Welcome to Country and cultural performance. In 2015, we are pleased to present a brief window into their rich cultural tradition with a welcoming performance on the banks of the Noosa River, at the exact location where we closed Balance-Unbalance 2013.

This is an opportunity to continue the conversation and respectfully acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land where Balance-Unbalance travels for each conference. The Leweton Cultural Group performing Vanuatu Women’s Water Music were a highlight for many at Balance-Unbalance 2013 in Australia and we have maintained an ongoing partnership to make sure remote coastal and island communities have a voice in global conversations around climate change.

Leweton Cultural Group hails from the remote tropical northern islands of Gaua and Merelava in Vanuatu, and live in a village in Espiritu Santo where they present, share, and maintain their unique cultural traditions and practises across cultures and generations. The Leweton Cultural Group has attracted attention from across the world with the mesmerising women’s water music and the energetic sounds of String band Matto.

These remote Island communities are experiencing the true ramifications of climate change and at Balance-Unbalance we recognise the critical value of engaging with Indigenous knowledge systems in responding to climate change. We are privileged to include the Leweton Cultural Group in Balance-Unbalance 2015, with a Kastom Ceremony and Water Music performance conducted in Vanuatu especially for the opening of Balance-Unbalance 2015. This video also includes a welcoming message from Sandy Sur, a community leader from Vanuatu and the Leweton Cultural Group.

We are completely devastated by the damage, deaths and destruction caused by Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu and shocked to hear that thousands of people have been displaced by this catastrophic cyclone. We hope to make some contribution to the affected communities during Balance-Unbalance 2015 and commit to working with them in the future.

Leah Barclay was invited to give a seminar at the Australian Rivers Institute Seminar on October 31st, 2014. The seminar showcased outcomes from the Synapse Residency and future opportunities for this project.

River Listening is a research collaboration between Dr. Leah Barclay and the Australian Rivers Institute to explore new methods for acoustically monitoring four Queensland river systems: the Brisbane River, the Mary River, the Noosa River and the Logan River. The project has involved listening labs, field recording, sound maps, performances and installations to experiment with virtual technologies and community engagement in understanding river health and aquatic biodiversity. This seminar will introduce the creative foundations of River Listening and highlight Barclay’s collaborations with river systems across the world spanning ten years. River Listening fundamentally explores the creative possibilities of aquatic bioacoustics and the potential for new approaches in the management and conservation of global river systems.