This talk-show style panel will show how audio is having a new lease of life in the mix of in-gallery media, websites, apps and other mobile tech in museums. Audio is more than a tired old ‘interpretation’ friend and can be used in innovative ways to communicate and learn. As a medium, it offers a singularly direct connection with the listener, creating a sense of presence and intimacy that can be hard to achieve in a museum environment or with screens alone. Yet audio storytelling in a museum context often struggles to go beyond ‘talking catalogues’, with it’s didactic messaging. This panel will offer worked examples of how audio can be a more effective tool when authentically expressed, and as an extension of the drive towards authentic communication, emotional engagement (E. Munro, 2014) and visitor participation in museums, breaking down barriers between institutions and audiences. Just as social media and our online lives have pushed the boundaries in museums beyond formal interactions with the public (MW2015,Provocations in art: engendering art debate on social media), so too can audio help museums to connect with visitors.

1. Soundscape by Simon Bowden, National Gallery of Art, London “Transcriptions: Sound”
Image by David Teniers
“Rich Man Being Led into
Hell ©National Gallery of Art,
London.

2. Sound Artist Melissa Grey responds to Edward Hopper
Edward Hopper,
New York Interior,
c. 1921 © Whitney
Museum of
American Art.

3. the art of listening: creating authentic stories in sound
Friday November 6th, 2015.

4. Introductions
Suse Cairns scairns@artbma.org @shineslike
Dan Davis, davisdan@si.edu @bigenola
Natalie Marsh natalie.marsh@nmc.ca @natzmarsh
Christine Murray cmurray@antennainternational.com @cmurraydocs
Sofie Andersen sandersen@antennainternational.com @sofieny
MCN 201504

5. Suse Cairns
Baltimore Museum of Art
@shineslike
Jeffrey Inscho
The Andy Warhol Museum
@StaticMade

7. MCN 20157
@bigenola @cmurraydocs @natzmarsh @sofieny

8. audio = a ‘known’ entity?

9. authentic stories ≠ template

10. authentic stories = connect & retain

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“(Serial)..this is not an original idea. Maybe in podcast form it is, and trying to do it
as a documentary story is really, really hard. But trying to do it as a serial, this is as
old as Dickens.” - Sara Koenig

12. Storytelling = pace, build anticipation, choreograph

13. Conversation Summary
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• audio that moves you – sharing emotions, building intimacy.
• location matters – mobile or site-specific audio.
• storytelling & editorial techniques – crafting story, pacing,
building tension, opinion.
• shaping voice – institutional, first person, responsive, inclusive.

14. Shownotes – audio played/referenced
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Sound artists respond to art.
National Gallery, London - http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/inspired-by-the-collection/sound/*/chooseMedia/1/
Whitney Museum of American Art - http://whitney.org/WatchAndListen/AudioGuides?play_id=183
This American Life –http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/449/middle-school
Reply All Podcast- https://gimletmedia.com/episode/39-reply-all-exploder/
Rineke Dijkstra Retrospective, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum – On Almerisa Series - http://www.guggenheim.org/new-
york/exhibitions/past/exhibit/4424/2
A Journey to Noguchi – Teen produced audio for the Noguchi Museum. Episode ‘Serenity’.
https://ajourneytonoguchi.wordpress.com/audio/audio-file-3/
National Music Center, Canada – Excerpt from NMC’S on-going digital storytelling project
https://soundcloud.com/antennalab-1/national-music-center-digital-storytelling-dad-came-from-vietnammp3
Calgary Tower App Experience - https://soundcloud.com/antennalab-1/calgary-tower-audio-postcard-little-red-wagon

15. Show notes - references
Location based audio: http://eastvillagepoetrywalk.org/#location=25
Night at the Museum - National Gallery of Art Podcast http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcasts/the-national-gallery-podcast-episode-
seven
Installation Based Storytelling – Sensory Stories: https://vimeo.com/132444721
Ira Glass’ Manifesto: http://transom.org/2004/ira-glass/
‘NPR Voice’ Has Taken Over the Airwaves: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/fashion/npr-voice-has-taken-over-the-
airwaves.html?_r=0
Chenjerai Kumanyika- Vocal Color in Public Radio” http://transom.org/2015/chenjerai-kumanyika/
Podcasting Renaissance: http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/10/whats-behind-the-great-podcast-renaissance.html
Public Radio : http://www.niemanlab.org/2015/05/deciphering-what-the-next-generation-of-public-radio-listeners-wants-through-npr-one/
From podcast to novel: http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/20/books/from-the-ear-to-the-page-the-night-vale-podcast-becomes-a-
novel.html?smid=tw-share&referer=https://t.co/jIBbZS98f8&_r=0
On storytelling devices/the storytelling impulse in the brain”
http://storytelling.stanford.edu/index.php/blog/2014blogs/455-storytelling-species.html
http://m.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/podcast-brain-why-do-audio-stories-captivate/389925/
Research on narrative in mobile, 2012: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tham20/18/1-2
Muse Awards winners 2015: http://aam-us.org/about-us/grants-awards-and-competitions/muse-awards/past-award-winners/2015-muse-
awards
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16. Contacts
Suse Cairns scairns@artbma.org @shineslike
Dan Davis, davisdan@si.edu @bigenola
Natalie Marsh natalie.marsh@nmc.ca @natzmarsh
Christine Murray cmurray@antennainternational.com @cmurraydocs
Sofie Andersen sandersen@antennainternational.com @sofieny
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17. Thank you
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