Sound Bites City

Sound Bites City was the inaugural exhibition of the RMIT Sound Art Collection.

RMIT University Gallery
4 September 2013 – 19 October 2013.

This first event presented 19 local, national and international spatial sound works in The Torus, a purpose-built exhibition platform - a spiralling timber gridshell design - where audiences could stroll, sit or lie down inside a 21-channel loudspeaker system.

Sound Bites City emerged from a study 2008-2009 into Melbourne’s 5 urban soundscape systems. This earlier project identified gaps in the curation and operation of systems that could be addressed by establishing a collection, purpose built exhibition platform and curatorial–research team in a university. For over two years RMIT Gallery worked closely with sound and design researchers at the University to curate the inaugural works and develop an exhibition platform for spatial electroacoustic sound works. In addition to The Torus, the project required new software that scheduled and presented the 19 works on different daily schedules.

Works presented

  • We’ll All Go Together – Susan Philipsz
  • Kirribilli Wharf – Bill Fontana
  • Namib – Chris Watson
  • Constructions Metalliques – Christian Zanesi
  • Sije les Ecoutais – Christine Groult
  • Sounds of Weather – Christophe Charles
  • Spaces of Mind – Daniel Teruggi
  • 5000 Calls – David Chesworth/Sonia Leber
  • Madeira Soundscape – Doug Quin
  • Points Critiques – Horacio Vaggione
  • Cat Purring Katrin – Isabel Ernst
  • White Noise Spatialisation – Nick Murray
  • Wayfinder – Nick Murray
  • Atmosis – Philip Brophy
  • A Sonic Truce – Stephan Schutze
  • Passing By…More Quickly – Stephen Adam
  • Coffee Sugar – Stephen Adam
  • A Day of Hours: Sonic Archaeology From Here – Susan Frykberg

Key people

Project team

  • Curators – Associate Professor Lawrence Harvey, Suzanne Davies and Jon Buckingham
  • Torus Design – Nicholas Williams
  • Construction – Jon Cherry, Nicholas Williams and students from the School of Architecture and Urban Design
  • Technical platforms and hardware – Jeffrey Hannam
  • Stereo mixes for ipods – Paris Larman
  • Additional technical support – Simon Maisch
aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Luwaytini' by Mark Cleaver, Palawa.

aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.