Listening Lounge recently partnered with the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to produce Audio Portraits.  Head over to the D.C. Convention Center (N Street NW between 7th and 9th), walk down the street, gaze at the photography displayed on the exterior of the windows, pull out your cell phone and dial in to hear the audio portraits!

Photographs on display were selected as part of the “51 Faces of D.C.: Census 2010 Portraits Contest” curated by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities and D.C. Counts.

Audio Portraits Exhibit
Where: N Street NW between 7th and 9th
When: LIVE from Thursday July 29, 2010 forward

Flyer design and artwork by Malaka Gharib

DC Listening Lounge presents Sound Scene: Work & Play, Saturday, May 22! This audio-rich event takes place at La Casa Community Center, 3166, Mt Pleasant Street, NW, Washington DC, 20010. 7pm- 11:00pm; suggested donation $6.

In addition to audio installations, there will be live music from the New Atlantis IVtet, The Torches (http://www.facebook.com/TheeTorches), Black Snake in the Daisy Patch, and Weed Tree.

Flyer design and artwork by Malaka Gharib

Here’s another piece from the body installation at the 2009 Sound Scene. Tina’s niece and nephew consider the guts.

> Listen to Cheerios by Tina Tennessen (1:15)

AIR (The Association of Independents in Radio) is offering two upcoming intensive workshops on unconventional and creative approaches to sound and storytelling. You will need to apply, and the application deadline is this Friday, June 20. From the AIR website:

AIR, with Harvestworks Digital Media Arts Center in New York City, offers two week-long intensives for mid to advance level producers. You do not have to be a member of AIR to participate. This opportunity may be especially appealing to those working in traditional radio formats eager to experiment with unconventional approaches to sound and telling story. Read more and apply here

While you’re on the AIR website, see the recent article by independent producer Neenah Ellis in the online publication Air Blast. She writes about homegrown audio and listening groups that have popped-up across the country. You’ll see that DC Listening Lounge gets a nice mention.

Last night’s Sound Scene was quite a night, lots of people and lots of listening. The upstairs ‘audio map’ was especially hoppin’ — great to see so many people in that little room wandering around our canvas version of DC and listening to sounds and stories from the city’s four quadrants (and the ‘burbs). Here’s a nice blog post someone wrote about the evening.

Thanks to all the musicians and sound artists who performed (Layne Garrett, Sean Peoples, Carolina Mayorga, All Violet, Equinox, and Black Snake and The Daisy Patch). Special thanks to the volunteers who made the event possible, and Flying Dog Brewery for supplying the delicious suds.

Here are a few photos of the event; we hope to post more in the near future. These photos are just of the audio map (the actual map is below their feet).

john cage performing his piece ‘water walk’ in january 1960 on the national tv game show ‘i’ve got a secret’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KKE0f1FGiw

some great interviews and other performances too.

Job posting for Storycorps:

StoryCorps Facilitator

StoryCorps is seeking enthusiastic and dedicated Facilitators for a yearlong commitment. StoryCorps’ mission is to instruct and inspire people to record one another’s stories in sound. StoryBooths and MobileBooths are small, comfortable recording studios where friends, families and neighbors bring each other to conduct forty-minute audio interviews. The stories recorded in these booths are housed at the Library of Congress’ American Folklife Center. The StoryCorps collection will become our nation’s largest oral history archive. StoryCorps stories air weekly on National Public Radio.

Facilitators are the field workers of StoryCorps. Part anthropologist, part folklorist, they capture stories of everyday people in order to record and archive the diverse voices of  America. They:
* Welcome participants to the interview and guide them through the experience.*
* Handle all technical aspects of making the recordings.
* Catalogue interviews for the Library of Congress.
* Attend weekly Facilitator team meetings.
* Perform minor maintenance and cleaning of the StoryBooths and MobileBooths.
* Identify and edit tape from interviews to be considered for broadcast.
* Recruit participants from under-represented communities.    

* Are the ambassadors of StoryCorps wherever they go.

* In general, Facilitators are not interviewers—friends or family members of the storytellers conduct the interviews. Facilitators do conduct interviews when participants come alone.

 Locations:

 In their year term, Facilitators will facilitate interviews at:

   1 StoryBooths: One to three 7-hour shifts a week at our StoryBooths in New York City.
   2. Door to Doors (D2Ds): Occasional trips (lasting between a day and a week) to facilitate interviews hosted by a partner organization.
   3. MobileBooths: A two to three month tour on one of our MobileBooths that travel the country collecting stories. One of these MobileBooths, StoryCorps Griot, is collecting the stories of African-Americans, so applicants with an interest in black history are strongly encouraged. A mobile tour of a minimum of two months between late June and December 2007 is mandatory.

Skills:

* People skills are first and foremost—we’re looking for good listeners who are friendly, encouraging, and can put people at ease. Facilitators have a genuine curiosity about people and a keen awareness of interpersonal dynamics.
* Because each Facilitator archives their own interviews for the Library of Congress, attention to administrative details and computer proficiency are essential.
* Facilitators must be flexible travel partners, adaptable and willing to compromise. Solid driving skills encouraged.             * Bilingual a plus.
* Comprehensive training will be provided, so an eagerness to learn is more important than related prior experience or familiarity with audio and photo equipment.
Timing and Salary: The position begins in mid-May 2007 and goes through May 2008.
Must be able to work one weekend day per week and one half weekday every other week at minimum.
The pay rate is $14 per hour in New York. While on the Mobile Tour, Facilitators are full-time salaried employees at a comparable rate and are also provided accommodations.
To Apply: Send resume and cover letter (no longer than a page) explaining why you would like to be a Facilitator to Nora Levine, Facilitator Manager at employment@storyorps.net.  Title your email “Last name - Facilitator” and include both cover letter and resume as attachments entitled: “YourNameLetter” and ”YourNameResume”. Please indicate if you have applied for a  position at StoryCorps in the past.
Applications due March 30.

Early applications encouraged. To get the best sense of the job, make an appointment to interview someone you love in a StoryBooth. No calls please.
 Equal Opportunity Employer
This position will be filled without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, 
disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

 For more information about StoryCorps, please visit  
www.storycorps.net.
    

The WPA/C Experimental Media Series continues with ColorField Remix, a show devoted to reinterpreting the Color-Field Artists with new media.

More information about submitting pieces can be found here. Cash prizes! And fame.

If you were out and about doing last minute shopping or stuck in DC’s horrible traffic jams last night, you may have heard this piece on NPR and Marketplace.  From our friends at American Radio Works comes, Hearing America: A Century of Music on the Radio.  This series explores the impact that musical recordings had on the development of radio as we know it today.  In the first segment, you’ll hear radio professors Susan Douglas and Michelle Hilmes discuss the “wireless concerts” that started the nation’s fascination with the airwaves.  Stay tuned for the showdown between the NY Philharmonic and the Grand Ole Opry.  Sounds good so far!