The Listening Path II

Abby Aresty’s The Listening Path II: Disparate Times and Places uses soundwalking to connect people in disparate places in a unified act of silent respect for our natural surroundings.

The Listening Path II entails two short site-specific soundwalks, the first at Conard Environmental Research Area (CERA), and the second in Tempe, AZ, as part of the 2015 Balance/Unbalance Conference at Arizona State University.

Online documentation of these listening paths and their respective soundscape recordings will juxtapose the diverse soundscapes of two iconic American landscapes: the desert and the prairie.

This project blends the historically significant act of silent marches organized in the wake of tragedy with the creative research practice of soundwalking. In weaving together these themes, it suggests that communities separated by time and place can practice collective silence to listen to the land, to demonstrate respect for our unique local environments, and to raise awareness of the extraordinary environmental challenges we face.

This free public event begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at the Environmental Education Center at CERA. Please contact Elizabeth Hill if you need transportation to CERA from the Grinnell College campus. Those traveling to CERA together will meet in front of Joe Rosenfield ’25 Center at 2 p.m. Please wear warm clothes for a short hike.

Grinnell welcomes and encourages the participation of people with disabilities. Please contact Elizabeth Hill if you have questions about accessibility or accommodations.