For ‘Notes on Play’, multi-disciplinary artist Shenece Oretha has been commissioned to make a new work in response to the ‘Playtimes’ collection within the British Library’s Sound Archive – a rich variety of recordings documenting the imaginative, subversive and interpretative nature of play. The project is part of the MA Curating Contemporary Art Programme Graduate Projects 2021, Royal College of Art in partnership with British Library’s ‘Unlocking Our Sound Heritage’ (UOSH) programme.
Using selected material from the sound archive as a starting point, ‘Notes on Play’ explores the politics of play, the creative capacities of active listening and the effects and meaning of the archival itself. The project offers an alternative means for a new or expanded audience to engage with the archive.
Through the act of listening to the collection our personal memories of childhood playtime can be conjured, which – beyond mere nostalgia – creates a sense of liveliness and palpability to our own, unique archive of imagination. Actively listening to the archive is also a means to critically re-examine it, to be attentive to who or what is missing. The lack of racial diversity in the digitised sound collection, despite existing in a national archive, reminds us of the urgency to address what archives do and who they are for. With this in mind, ‘Notes on Play’ aims to encourage listening – as a methodology and as an active practice – to be attentive not only towards what we can hear, but also towards what we cannot. Far from being static and passive, we understand the sound archive as a dynamic and active body that can be altered and reimagined, that can be a source for creativity – an artistic medium in itself that can be played with.
Curated by Mahamed Abdullahi, Maria Abramenko, Liza-Rose Burton, Rodrigo Chaveiro, Matilde Silva Fry, Kahyun Lee and Ruby Yang.
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. It provides world-class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation and includes books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, photographs, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Over 10 million people visit the British Library website every year where they can view up to 4 million digitised collection items and over 40 million pages.
The British Library is also home to the nation’s sound archive, an extraordinary collection of over 6.5 million recordings of speech, music, wildlife and the environment. These recordings, from the UK and around the world, date from the birth of recorded sound in the 1880s to the present day. The sound archive forms a vital part of the nation’s collective memory and tells a rich story of the diverse history of the UK.
Unlocking Our Sound Heritage
UOSH is a UK-wide project that aims to preserve, digitise and provide public access to a large part of the nation’s sound heritage. The UOSH project forms part of the core programme ‘Save Our Sounds’, led by the British Library, involving a consortium of ten regional and national archival institutions. Between 2017 and 2022 the aim is to digitise and make available up to 500,000 rare and unique sound recordings, not only from the British Library’s collection but from across the UK, dating from the birth of recorded sound in the 1880s to the present.
Curating Contemporary Art MA, Royal College of Art
Established over 25 years ago, the MA Curating Contemporary Art (CCA) programme at the Royal College of Art is recognised as an international leader in curatorial education and training and for its commitment to collaborative group project-based work that integrates theory and practice throughout the curriculum. The CCA programme approaches the field critically, theoretically and through best practice in commissioning, curating and programming with London-based and international arts organisations and spaces. These partnerships ensure that the knowledge and understanding of these practices is grounded in the context of public audiences, urbanisation and the digital.
Contact us
cca-collections-and-archives@rca.ac.uk
Copyright notice
Please note that the intellectual property rights in all content comprising or contained within this website address (URL) is owned by Notes on Play, Royal College of Art and other copyright owners as specified. All artworks presented on this website are copyright of the Artists and other copyright owners as specified. © Notes on Play, Royal College of Art, the Artists and other copyright owners as specified, 2021. All rights reserved.
Accuracy of information
We make every effort to ensure that the content of the site is accurate and up to date, but we accept no liability in relation to typographical errors or third-party information. Although we attempt to link only to appropriate organisations, we cannot accept responsibility for the content of any external website.
Privacy
Notes on Play only uses strictly necessary cookies that enable this website to function correctly. These cookies do not collect personal and statistical data or track users. You can find out more about cookies here. By visiting Notes on Play you agree that we can place these types of cookies on your device.