About aifoon
aifoon is an arts organisation that sets listening in motion
Listening as experience
aifoon is active in the field of sound and listening. At aifoon our focus is not music or voice but sounds, noises and, above all, the experience of listening itself. This experience is characterised by all kinds of factors of which we are not always aware: space, movement, the body, context, culture, personal memories, mood, and so on. For example, did you know that you listen differently when you’re in love? Or when you’re hungry?
Our activities are guided by questions like:
- What effect does sound have on you? How does sound spark your imagination?
- Do we only listen with our ears?
- What precedes a sound and what is left behind?
- How do you experience silence? Does silence actually exist?
- How do space, movement and acoustics affect your listening experience?
- What role do sounds play in the world around you?
- …?
Close your eyes, prick up your ears
We live in a society in which images and visual stimulation dominate. aifoon seeks to encourage people to prick up their ears and not only experience their environment by looking but also by listening.
During our creative projects, participants discover their own approach to listening as well as that of others. We guide them through an adventure on which they rediscover the act of listening.
In addition to sound, our ears are also open to silence and acoustics and how these factors play a role in our way of living (together).
Our working practices
aifoon investigates the movement, dimensions and scope of listening in a variety of different ways: from short tasters to in-depth and long-term projects, on the stage and in museums, in schools and in studios, in urban and rural environments, with specialists but most of all with the general public.
We capture sounds and use them as raw materials for artistic productions and participative projects such as audio walks, aural massages and sound compositions. But we also give workshops and take up residency in museums and other cultural institutions..
aifoon itself is also constantly in motion: as a nomadic arts organisation we see the world as our workspace. Co-creation is central to what we do, together with various partner organisations, artists and the general public, but also with key players in a range of fields, including youth work, education, care, architecture, environment and urban planning.
Only by working together in this way can we build towards a richer listening culture and develop an artistic and societal discourse with regard to listening, silence and acoustics.
Why ‘aifoon’?
‘ai’ is the Japanese word for ‘love’ and ‘harmony’,
while ‘foon’ comes from the Ancient Greek word for ‘sound’.
Contact
Dok-Noord 4F/204
9000 Gent
+32 494 544 391
info@aifoon.org
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