Sound On!

An illustration by Ashwin Chacko. This illustration represents the feeling and spirit of the Sound On! project. Illustration with six characters marching in a line with a pink banner with the words “Sound on!” written in white next to an audio speaker icon in white and yellow. The characters all range in age, ethnicity and gender, they are all smiling. The first person on the far left of the line is a woman in her twenties with red cheeks, blue eyes, glasses and shoulder length red hair. She is wearing a two-tone pink striped top under a two-tone blue striped jacket with a pair of navy jeans and bright red boots. She is waving and dancing. There is a pink speech bubble over her head to her right, and a blue music note to her left above her shoulder. There is a green bird with yellow feet and an orange beck flying above her head to her left. The next person in the line is a woman in her thirties with dark long brown flowing hair. She is wearing a purple jumper with swirl designs on the sleeves, navy trousers, light pink socks and purple shoes. She is holding the first pole of the pink “Sound On!” banner. There is a blue music note to her left above where she has her hand on the banner pole. The next person is a woman in their 20s with burgundy curly hair which is tied back in a ponytail. She is wearing a pair of light blue headphones. She is sitting in a silver and grey wheelchair. She is wearing a pair of brown dungarees, orange t-shirt and a pair of blue slip on shoes with no socks. Their right arm is resting on the wheel of her chair, she is holding her left arm up high in the air, with her fist clinched. There is a blue music note to the left over her clinched fist. The next person in the line is a grey haired man in his 70’s. He is wearing glasses with tinted blue lenses, a three-tone red checked pattern shirt, black trousers, bright red socks, and black shoes with an orange stripe down the side of the sole and orange shoe laces. The shoes have thick soles. He is holding onto the Sound On! banner with his left hand and his right hand on his hip. The Sound On! banner is above his head and there is a blue music note to his right at his elbow. The next person is in their twenties. They have brown hair split in the middle. They are wearing a two-tone green t-shirt with an a orange collar, sleeve cuffs and trimming at the bottom of the t-shirt. They are also wearing blue jeans, bright red socks, green trainers with cream laces and soles. They are wearing black headphones connected to a blue coloured smart phone that they are carrying in their left hand. They are holding the smart phone out from their body almost in front of their face, and in their other hand they are carrying a football with a yellow and blue zig zag and diamond pattern. They are singing along to the music they are listening to. The next person is a man in his 50s with a long black beard. He is wearing a grey hat, black sun glasses, a bright red scarf with a white trim, an orange top, a two toned blue jacket with elbow patches, a black buckled belt, teal green trousers, and black boots with a thick sole. In his left hand he is carrying a placard, which has a brown pole and a pink banner. The banner has an icon of a person sitting in a wheelchair with a megaphone with sound waves coming from it. There is a blue music note over his head, and a light blue speech bubble above his hand where he is holding onto the placard. In his left hand he is cane pointing forward. The walking cane is white with black striped. At the front of the line is a brown dog standing up on his hind legs. The dog has a big fluffy tail, and is wearing a red collar with an orange tag on the front. The dog is smiling.

We made class sounds, and listened back to our recordings on Zoom and WhatsApp. We boosted our health and our happiness. It was fab!!

David Carter, Sound On! Artist, Saint John of God Liffey Service

We are delighted to be part of this wonderful inclusive partnership and to launch this powerful work. I’m looking forward to exploring the response to the art work at our Beautiful Difference symposium in June, 2022.

Allie Walton-Robson, Creative Director, Headway Arts

Sound On! is a creative sound artwork exploring experiences of human rights and happiness for and by people with a learning disability. The sound artwork consists of 3 sound tracks entitled;

I Have the Right (2’ 47’’)
Sounds of our Lives (3’ 51’’)
Listen In (8’ 55’’)

The Sound On! project is a collaboration between artists Dr Sinéad McCann, AlanJames Burns and Saint John of God Liffey Services Ireland who provide a range of support to adults with learning disabilities.

The exhibition is running for one year launching on 14 December 2021 and closing on the United Nations recognised International Day of Persons with Disabilities 3 December 2022. UK based Headway Arts are programming the Sound On! artwork as an online sound art exhibition as part of Beautiful Difference, a project which champions the creativity of artists with learning disabilities, offering opportunities for professionalisation of their work, artistic development, digital inclusion and international networking. The sound artworks is presented on this accessible website welcoming people of all abilities to experience them. A series of creative response to the artworks from artists and other professionals will be hosted on the website during the one-year exhibition, the first of these responses are by Behavioural Specialist Christina Doody and Assistive Technology Facilitator Sarah Gavra Boland. Sound On! is funded by the Arts Council of Ireland Artist in Community Scheme, managed by Create, Kildare County Council Creative Ireland Community Grant and Culture Ireland.

The artwork was developed over a six-month period during the Covid 19 lockdown through weekly on-line creative workshops, facilitated and led by artists Dr Sinéad McCann and AlanJames Burns in collaboration with Aidan Winters, Conor Begley, David Carter, David Deane, Frances Quinn, Jonathan Smith, Keith Whelan, Laura Hickey, Niamh Fortune and Sean Winder who were supported to create fun and self-expressive sound artworks. Co–designers Niamh Fortune and Conor Begley worked closely with the artists to design the delivery of the Sound On! project. The composition for the sound tracks was created in collaboration with composer Conor O’Malley. The creative workshops were supported by Saint John of God Liffey Services support staff led by Assistive Technology facilitator Sarah Gavra Boland and Suzanne Cunningham through the SJOG Liffey Online Engage Programme. The group demonstrated many transferable skills including;

New creative and digital skills
Problem solving, perseverance, focus and receiving instruction through their ability to record their voices and sounds using accessible sound recording and editing software
Creativity and confidence while producing their independent and group sound art pieces through personal and collective expression
Self-expression, critical review and feedback, teamwork, discussion and collaboration skills

Artworks

Closed captions are available on all of the sound artworks below

I Have the Right

Sounds of our Lives

Listen In

A large Zoom photograph of all the Sound On! Artists who worked together on the project on a bright pink background. There are 13 people in the zoom photograph each in an individual rectangular box in a grid of 4x4x4x1. In the bottom right hand corner of the image and grid are the words “Sound On!” and a audio-speaker icon in white. In the top left hand corner of the zoom photograph is a white woman in her thirties wearing a bright blue hairband. She has black hair with a fringe. She is smiling. She is wearing black headphones with attached microphone and a navy dress. She is waving with both her hands. She is sitting down in a room with white walls. There is a table with books on it in the background. To the right is a photograph of a white man in his thirties. He has brown hair and a bead. He is wearing glasses, a grey t-shirt with YES printed on the front. He is wearing black headphones. He is holding his left arm and hand in a thumbs up pose. He is sitting down in a room with cream coloured walls, and there is white marbled fireplace with a large mirror on it and plant behind him. To the right of this is a photograph of a white woman in her fifties. She has short brown hair and is wearing black framed glasses. She is smiling, and has both arms and hands in a thumbs up pose. Behind her there is small Irish flag and a undistinguishable picture hanging on the wall. To the right of this is a photograph of a woman in her thirties. She has brown hair and is smiling. She has her hands in a thumbs up pose. She is sitting down in a white walled room. There are undistinguishable pictures on the wall in the background. Underneath this photograph, is a photograph of a white man in his twenties. He is wearing silver and blue headphones, and black framed glasses. He is wearing a teal green vest top and has his left hand in a thumbs up pose close to the camera. To the left of this photograph, is a photograph of a white woman in her fifties. She has short brown hair, and is wearing a grey hoody. She is sitting down and smiling. She is in a pink walled room, and there is a window in the background. To the left of this photograph is a photograph of a white woman in her forties. She has short black curly hair. She has both her hands in a thumbs up pose, and is sitting in a white walled room. There is a brown shelf above her head. To the left of this photograph is a photograph of a white man in his fifties. He has white hair and is wearing white headphones, a red jumper and he is smiling. He is sitting in a pink room and there are two windows in the background. Underneath this photograph is a photograph of a white man in his twenties. He has blonde hair. He is wearing black framed glasses, and a white and black stripped t-shirt. He is smiling, and has both his hands in a thumbs up pose. In the back ground there is a large shelving unit with lots of books on it, and there is a window to his left. To the right of this photograph is a man in his thirties. He is smiling, and is wearing a green and cream stripped t-shirt. There is a window in the background. To the right of this photograph is a white man in his thirties with short brown hair. He is wearing glasses and a Dublin football jersey. He is sitting down in cream coloured room. There is an undistinguishable picture hanging on the wall in the background. To the right of this picture is a white man in his forties. He has dark hair and is wearing glasses. He is wearing a blue facemask, and a white, red and black stripped t-shirt. He is sitting down and his left hand is in a thumbs up pose. Underneath this and the previous two other photographs are the words Sound On! with a speaker icon. To the left of these words there is a photograph of a white man in his thirties. He has dark hair. He is wearing a blue and navy Dublin football jersey, and a black facemask. He has both his hands in a thumbs up pose. He is sitting down, and the room has red walls. There are undistinguishable pictures on the wall in the background.

A Zoom photograph of the Co-Design team for the Sound On! project. There are four people in the zoom photograph. Each in an individual rectangular box in a 2x2 grid. In the top left corner is a photograph of a white woman in her thirties. She has black hair with a fringe. She is wearing a black top and a black necklace with a metal bar on it. She is also wearing black headphones with an attached microphone. She is smiling and has both her hands up towards the camera in a thumbs up pose. She is sitting down in a white-walled room, and there is a table with books on it in the background. In the top right corner is a photograph of a smiling white man in his thirties. He has brown hair and a beard. He is wearing glasses a black t-shirt, and he has one of his arms and hands held up in a thumbs up pose. There is a white marble fireplace with a large mirror resting on it and a plant in the background. In the bottom left corner is a photograph of a white woman in her thirties. She has pulled back brown hair and she is smiling. She is wearing smalled hooped earrings. She has both her hands held up in a thumbs up pose. In the bottom right corner is a photograph of a white man in his twenties. He has blonde hair and is wearing glasses. He is smiling and has both his help up hands in a thumbs up pose. He is wearing a red Manchester United football jersey. There is a shelving unit and press with lots of books in the background.

This is a photograph of one of the Sound On! Artists. He is sitting down at a table listening to sounds that he recorded using Whats App on his tablet for the Sound On! project. He is a white man in his thirties. He is wearing black headphones, black glasses a blue and red striped top with a collar, and a black face mask. There are closed presses and stacked chairs in the background. The colour of the background in the photograph has been altered to black and white.

This is an over the shoulder photograph of one of the Sound On! Artists. He is a white man in his forties. He is wearing a grey top and glasses. In the photograph he is sitting down at a round table looking at the screen on his smart phone and tablet. He is looking at both screens because he is using Whats App on his phone to record sounds and he is also using the sound editing software Soundtrap on his tablet to edit the sounds for the Sound On! project. The colour of the background in the photograph has been altered to black and white.

This is a photograph of one of the Sound On! Artists. She is a white woman in her fifties, and has short brown hair and she is smiling. She is wearing a blue zip up top and blue jeans. She is sitting at a table holding her tablet device. She is recording sounds using Whats App on her tablet for the Sound On! project. There is a countertop and shelving unit in the background with papers and drawings being stored. The colour of the background in the photograph has been altered to black and white.

Responses to the Sound On! Project

Christina Doody, Behaviour Specialist, Callan Institute

This project is profound! There is something about it that just connects with our shared humanity. Listening to voices with no images really removes a barrier that can often cause us to categorise in terms of ‘them and us’. These audio clips capture the ordinary in an extraordinary way that draws us into a real connection with what is being said and the humanity of the individuals speaking. They are haunting, disembodied echoes of what we all experience. We could all learn a lot from listening to these audio clips.

Sarah Gavra Boland, Assistive Technology Facilitator, Saint John of God Community Services

The Sound On! creative project is a marvellous example of the importance of “creative partnerships” for disability services. The project took the creative skills of the two artists and the willingness to listen to the voice of the participants to create three outstanding sound art pieces. The willingness of the artists to not only say they were going to work with the participants but to have the openness to include two co-designers from the target group from the start was crucial. The three art pieces are closely linked to the Strategic Plan for Saint John of God Liffey services. Three of our priorities are particularly pertinent to this initiative:

Strategic Priority Area 2: Person-centred Service Development and Delivery – Our services and supports are determined and directed by the individual we support to achieve their potential. We supported the participants in this project to share their lived experience through a medium that was comfortable for them to control.

Under the Strategic Priority Area 3: Building Capacity and Relationships, we support, strengthen and develop the skills, competencies and abilities of individuals, families, communities, and organisations we connect with to build more inclusive communities both in person and over the last year online. During this project, the participants and the support staff all learned transferable digital skills, and it opened their world to creative, accessible online tools and resources.

This also leads into the Strategic Priority Area 4: Innovation, Quality, and Risk. We achieve relevant standards of excellence through innovation, continuous improvement, research, design and risk management.

We aim to provide the highest quality services to those who need them and are committed to supporting high-quality projects within our service with community partners. These include a diverse range of projects from innovative research in service delivery to creative collaborations that empower the individuals we support to engage meaningfully in their community in many areas such as arts, sports, education and employment. Despite Covid, the group produced three meaningful and honest sound art pieces that they were proud and delighted to share both within the service and the wider community.

In conclusion, community projects can learn a lot from the creative methodology and process that both AlanJames Burns and Dr Sinéad Mc Cann executed to develop and deliver the final three sound art pieces. These will be shared for their creative appeal and as a training resource for the service as a whole. We want to express our gratitude to both Alan and Sinéad for all their efforts, and we hope to work with them again soon.

Core Collaborators

Co Design Team

The Sound On! project co-design team members were Sinead McCann, AlanJames Burns, Conor Begley and Niamh Fortune who were supported by Saint John of God Liffey Services Assistive Technology facilitator Sarah Gavra Boland, and support staff member Suzanne Cunningham to work together.

The role of the co-design team was to meet regularly throughout the creative project to discuss and develop ideas and make decisions on:

the theme and direction of the creative project
how to run the workshops in an effective and engaging way
the accessible technology and creative methods to be used to make the final sound artworks

A circular photograph of Artist Dr Sinead McCann, one of the lead artists on the Sound On! project. A white woman in her thirties with short black hair and green eyes, she is smiling and is wearing a yellow beaded necklace, green hoop earrings, and a green dress.

Dr Sinéad McCann

I am a Dublin based Artist working across the mediums of performance, video, sound, installation and sculpture often in a context, site or community specific way.

I regularly work collaboratively with a broad range of people including creative professionals, professionals from a range of other disciplines, and with others who bring a unique perspective to the work. My aim is to produce innovative and challenging artworks which add an artistic contribution to public debate on important issues in modern life. I exhibit my work nationally, and internationally and my work is funded by recognised bodies.

I studied for my degree in Fine Art Technological University Dublin (00-04), and Masters of Fine Art (05-08) and Practice Based PhD Fine Art Sculpture (2009-2015) at the National College of Art and Design Dublin. I have worked part time (since 2009) in Technological University Dublin coordinating socially engaged projects across disciplines as part of the curriculum. I served on the board of directors Common Ground 2013-2014

Recent works:

Trigger for Change (2022), a 46 minute radio documentary in collaboration with radio maker Alan Meaney, and The Bridge Project Dublin 8 exploring access to employment for people with a criminal record. Funded by a research grant as part of the Engage the City programme with Dublin City Council Culture Company and the Arts Council of Ireland Artist in Community Project Realisation Award managed by Create. Broadcasting on Newstalk radio station as part of First Forthnight Mental Health Art and Culture festival Jan 2022.

Sound On! (2021) A sound art project exploring human rights and happiness in collaboration with artist AlanJames Burns and Saint John of God Liffey Service. Funded by the Arts Council of Ireland Artist in Community Project Research and Development Award, and Project Realisation Award managed by Create.

An Agreement of Silence (2021), video artwork, exploring the alliance of church, state and the broader community in the confinement, exploitation and abuse of women in the former Magdalene laundries in Ireland. Presented as part of the Dublin Arts and Human Rights festival, Mill theatre Dublin. Funded by Arts Council of Ireland, and Smashing Times Centre for Equality and Human Rights.

Living Inside; Six stories from the history of Irish prison reform (2019), a photographic exhibition of the work of Irish photo journalist Derek Speirs, Kilmainham Jail, co curated with UCD historians Dr Oisin Wall and Dr Catherine Cox. As part of a major Welcome Trust funded project at University College Dublin exploring the history of prisoner healthcare. Funded by the Wellcome Trust UK, and University College Dublin.

The Trial (2017-2019), is a four channel synced video and sound installation made in collaboration with the Bridge Project Dublin 8, and UCD historians Dr Catherine Cox and Dr Fiachra Byrne exploring healthcare and human rights in the Irish prison system. Funded by an Arts Council of Ireland Participation Project Award, Community Award Dublin City Council, with further funding from University College Dublin and Wellcome Trust UK. National tour in 2019, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland. As part of a major Welcome Trust funded project at University College Dublin exploring the history of prisoner healthcare.

Health Inside (2018), a public art intervention on large scale billboards and bus shelters in Dublin 7 near Mountjoy prison, in collaboration with UCD historians Dr Oisin Wall and Dr Catherine Cox exploring the history of healthcare provision in the Irish prison system. Funded by an Open Call Arts Council of Ireland Award.

AlanJames Burns

AlanJames Burns (pronouns: he/they) is a visual artist producing immersive sensory environments and events with mixed-reality technologies in site-specific locations reflecting on the inner psychological space by giving voices and consciousness to structures and systems. Burns works highly collaborative with other artists, writers, composers and technicians.

Recent projects include:

Open Mind, Closed System (2021) an interactive audio-visual artwork using a brain-computer interface with generative imagery and audio, commissioned by Carlow Arts Festival 2021. An ambitious expansion of this work; ‘Augmented Boby, Altered Mind’ has been commissioned by Carlow Arts Festival for their 2022 programme core funded by Arts Council Of Ireland Commissions Award and Arts and Disability Ireland Project Award.

Silicon Synapse (2019) a Virtual Reality experience conceived for the Carnegie Library in Swords, Fingal; redeveloped for JRC Milan, Italy and Bozar, Brussels, 2019; core funded by Arts Council of Ireland and jointly commissioned by Fingal Arts & European Commission.

Entirely hollow aside from the dark (2016 – 2019) a sound installation produced inside caves commissioned by Fingal Arts 2016 and redeveloped for an Irish tour 2017 core funded by Arts Council of Ireland, North/South Co-Operation Fund & Creative Ireland. The first international presentation of this work took place at Creswell Cave, England, Aug 2019

Recent residencies incluce; Rapid Residency with Science Gallery Dublin, 2020; Research Residency with Hermes Artes Visuais, São Paulo, 2021; The Space Programme with the Performance Corporation at Tyrone Guthrie Centre 2019; Resonance Residency, JRC Milan, Italy and Seville, Spain, 2018-2020.

Saint John of God Liffey Services

Saint John of God Liffey Services (SJOGLS), provide residential, respite, day and education services to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Dublin South City, Dublin Southwest, Dublin West, and North Kildare region in Ireland. In the tradition of our founder Saint John of God and in the spirit of hospitality it is our philosophy to work in partnership with the people we support, their families, our staff, our volunteers, and our local community to achieve excellence in the delivery of supports to people and to ensure the just and equitable treatment of all people regardless of their diversity. SJOGLS are dedicated to responding and supporting the needs of individuals with disabilities, and will bring that expertise into leading the efforts of user requirements. For more information: http://sjogliffeyservices.ie/

Sarah Gavra Boland

Sarah Gavra Boland is an Assistive Technology (AT) Facilitator and has worked with Saint John of God Community Services since 2013. Her role is to support and enhance independence with the support of technology. The aim is to build capacity in communication & learning opportunities with individuals, families and support staff on using a variety of digital and assistive technologies through a person-centred technology approach. She has been working on various local and international projects focusing on mobile technology to bridge the digital divide. Her interests include co-design through design thinking, developing, sourcing and testing accessible mobile apps and devices to support independence and inclusion. She has been the SJOG project lead on five Erasmus+ projects in the last five years.

Partners

Saint John of God Community Services Liffey Services

Saint John of God Community Services Liffey Services, provide residential, respite, day and education services to children and adults with intellectual disabilities in Dublin South City, Dublin Southwest, Dublin West, and North Kildare region in Ireland.

In the tradition of our founder Saint John of God and in the spirit of Hospitality it is our philosophy to work in partnership with the people we support, their families, our staff, our volunteers, and our local community to achieve excellence in the delivery of supports to people and to ensure the just and equitable treatment of all people regardless of their diversity. SJOGCS are dedicated to responding and supporting the needs of individuals with disabilities, and will bring that expertise into leading the efforts of user requirements.

Headway Arts

Established in 1995 by Frances Castle (Chief Executive) and Allie Walton-Robson (Creative Director) and rooted in the working class community of Blyth, Northumberland UK. The pioneering inclusive company has an extensive portfolio of multi award winning socially engaged and highly creative world class projects which support fuller inclusion in the arts for everyone.

Headway Arts produce and tour quality theatre, dance productions, digital media and visual arts installations, creating across and often combining those forms and working with a team of Associate Artists with socially engaged practice. The inspiring eclectic artistic programme offers accessible projects and platforms which break down barriers to participation, creating equitable environments which support wellbeing, lifelong learning and positive experience. With an emphasis on championing the inclusion of and supporting the ambitions of learning disabled artists and people who have long term health conditions, the work is informed by lived experience of disability and mental health challenges expertise.

Over 25 years Headway Arts has pioneered good practice in inclusive arts and worked co-creatively with over 200,000 people, offering many of the UK’s and Europes most accomplished and emerging socially engaged artists fantastic opportunities to train, learn, grow and develop inclusive practice within local, national and international projects.

Headway Arts’ unique ‘CoCreART methodology’ is at the heart – a people centred model applied across all art forms including: theatre, dance, circus, visual arts, writing, printmaking, outdoor arts, carnival, digital/multimedia installations and film, and furthers their humanitarian vision. This trademark CoCreART model defined by Headway Arts as ‘working together towards a shared creative goal’ has been brought to its European projects for over 15 years initially through the Grundtvig programme and has been a successfully disseminated, much replicated model offering inspiration for groups across Europe, having been awarded ‘Most Innovative Project in Europe 2009’ at an event run by The British Council/Ecotec.

The REAL international artists’ network is co-ordinated by Headway Arts and offers opportunities to international artists. Currently co-ordinating 4 live international projects through Erasmus+ working with 17 partner organisations across Europe and the Far East.

The extensive Beautiful Difference project supported by Arts Council England puts the work of learning disabled artists centre stage. It offers opportunities to professionalise their work, build their creative skills and create platforms.

Headway Arts are delighted to announce that Sound On! will be presented in the culmination of this project at The Beautiful Difference Symposium 14th & 15th June 2022 which will bring together 40 international artists to exchange ideas and further thinking.

More information about Headway Arts.

Contact

All enquirers to artists@soundon.ie

Press

For further information, press release and images, please click below

Download Press Pack

A sound art exhibition running 14 Dec 2021 – 3 Dec 2022