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Loud and Clear STL, a Sonic Arts United initiative and Allied Media Projects sponsored project, is a 10-week program designed to support girls, and young women who have an interest in the sonic arts, by providing them with a safe space, and the technology to learn, create and share ideas.

Starting off with the physics of sound and signals, our girls learn how to define and demonstrate all that goes into sound creation. We will explore electricity by using the printed circuit board (PCB) of the Werkstatt by Moog as our guide. In the following weeks, participants are introduced to subtracted synthesis, sound design, midi, how to work with analog and digital tools by pairing the Werkstatt with the Ableton Push, and Live 9 software, investigate sonic branding, and development of their very own podcast episode.

The desired outcomes are to raise the self-esteem of participants, create bonds that foster mutual respect, and provide the necessary tools, training, and mentorship that shows girls and young women a career in the sonic arts, is an achievable career path for them to follow.

Fall session starts September 9th through November 18th and we are pleased to be instructing a couple sessions with Loren D!

 

 

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We had the honor of collaborating with our dear friend, Kahlil Irving in his final exhibition at Washington University’s Mildred Kemper Gallery.  Kahlil is a talented multimedia artist (designer, writer, curator) more famously known for his pottery work.

In this exhibition, his work is about black nationalism and the fight that Black Americans have to continue to endure while walking in this life. The hopes and experiences within the piece, intended to share with the viewers attending the exhibition, is that we are here, we are healthy, and we are fighting for our liberation beyond the metaphorical and physical chains they have put on us.

Because of the setting and political social climate of the current United States, we chose to re-arrange James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing” for 4 part female harmonies.   Below is a recording of our performance, with local vocalist/musicians, Alexis Coleman, Adria Nicole, and Loren Davis-Stroud (left to right).

Listen closely to hear Kahlil silently singing along with our performance.

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18447530_10209036267693032_4063315780040625825_nPhoto by De Nichols

This past Monday, we participated in Super Heroines Etc.’s Artivism 101 panel discussion with six other women.  The discussion was held at the St. Louis Library Carpenter Branch.  Among us, the panelists were as follows:

Kristian Blackmon, Artist and Organizer with Missouri Jobs with Justice
Emerging Leader Award

Shelly Goebl-Parker, Program Director, Art Therapy Counseling, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Alive Magazine

Emma Riley, Digital Storyteller & Communication Designer
Displaced & Erased

Joan Suarez, Bread & Roses Missouri Founder
Missouri History Museum

Andrea Standby, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of PRIME
andreastandby.com

Elizabeth Vega, Artist and Activist
Cut & Paste

Moderated by Jasmine J. Mahmoud, Postdoctoral Fellow, American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis

Artivism
The discussion explored navigation of producing activist work, what is artivism to us and how do we consider ourselves and artiviest, and the challenges we face in St. Louis.  There was a Q&A session and the end of the discussion as well.  We intended on documenting the discussion for later viewing but realized we never hit the record button on our device.  Pretty amateur mistake for us in all that we do!

Will keep you posted if Super Heroines Etc., or any other organization will publish a blog about their event.  Please check out all of the amazing women who participated in the panel discussion.

 

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Syna So Excited to announce that we will be providing a live sound design of a Peabody Award Winning Public Radio Show, To the Best of Our Knowledge.  They have partnered up with St. Louis Public Radio for a live taping at the Sheldon on the 25th of May.  We will be providing music for the opening and closing of the show, as well as breaks, and the chance to perform two of our songs in it’s entirety along with a short interview.  More information to come but tickets are $15 and can be purchased here!

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We are pleased to announce that we will be facilitating a 2 and a half hour workshop to teachers and educators on a course we are tentatively calling “Around the Clock” as a part of COCAedu’s Summer Institute.  This workshop will explore the basic conversions of time delay and decay through interactive round and echo exercises.

The Summer Institute will take place over the course of 4 days in July of 2017.  More details will come as they arise but registration is open until 03.31.17.