Sound and Cinema: Past, Present and Future

Curation of a public exhibition and events programme spanning film, virtual reality, games, TV and sound celebrating diversity and creativity.
The exhibition included free interactive events, featuring audio-visual live works, presentations, film screenings, VR, games and immersive spaces, panel discussions, practical workshops, performances and more.
The exhibition featured a photographic celebration of The Cinema Museum by photographer Ana Escobar, a collaboration with National Disability Art Collection & Archive (NDACA) exhibiting film and sound pieces by disabled artists, prints by Tom Eckersley from UAL's Archives and Special Collections Centre, and a small exhibition of objects from the Stanley Kubrick Archive based at London College of Communication.
In addition it provided the platform for the BAFTA-qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) to launch its Award-Winning Film Tour – an initiative aimed at bringing cinema to the community and encouraging positive engagement with independent film.

The launch night featured a performance from Unknown Devices, led by musician, professor and author David Toop using laptop computers, circuit bent electronics, turntables, power drills, Gameboys, homemade percussion and performance art practice alongside conventional instruments and voices – exploring the dynamics, technical and interpersonal demands of group improvisation, particularly in large, mixed-ability ensembles.

It also featured a fusion of live animation to a spontaneous score from Points of Entelechy, a loop-based, fully improvised audio-visual performance project by Lutfi Othman (audio) and Mario Radev (visual). The artists create spontaneous sonic and visual worlds through the act of live looping.
Each performance has as its output a sound recording and final drawing, but the purpose of this project is to put emphasis on the artistic process. This is based on the idea that witnessing the improvisation process relays more about the dynamism of sonic and visual material - their relationship, and our habits of perceiving them.
Through the use of loops, the repetitiveness of the sound and animated elements creates an immersive experience where the viewer can form momentary relationships between what they see and hear, whilst traversing into an aesthetically induced liminal space where transformation can occur.

Lucy Brown was lead curator of the Sound and Cinema, Past, Present and Future exhibition reaching and engaging a diverse audience from the local community, as well as partner museums, charities, industry professionals, students and scholars.

It was collaborative and interdisciplinary and aimed at celebrating diversity and creativity by exposing audiences to the breadth of cinematic and sonic experiences and challenging the way we see the world through photography, film, documentary, animation, virtual reality, games, design, and live performance.

Thousands of visitors attending the exhibition and activities series throughout the 22 day period raising sound and cinematic awareness and understanding. The visual and sonic artefacts were supported by talks and debates around the importance of diversity in the screen industry to pave a way to an inclusive future.