Sonic Streams Program

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Sonic Streams Program

• Program Description - Sonic Streams program is a
  creative exploration of the impact of sound on
  the human body.
• Working with an established team of sound
  artists, medical professionals, education experts
  and young people, FACT and Alder Hey Childrens
  hospital set out to explore the impact of one of
  the few sensory factors that can be changed
  within a health care environment sound.

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We started with the following questions

• Sound can powerfully affect the human body and
  the way we feel
• Can sound aid the healing process and promote
  wellbeing?
• Noisy, busy hospitals can raise stress levels
• Can we change real life impact of environments
  through altering sound content?
• There is very little research on how sound
  affects states of mind, the body and emotions
• Can we develop creative ways to scientifically
  research the effects of sound?
• We are working through these questions through
  the following activities
• Interdisciplinary Collaboration, Artists
  Projects, Public Participation plus Research and
  Education

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Interdisciplinary Collaboration

• Art Health FACT and Alder Hey Arts are
  committed to collaborative programming, which
  encourages young people to develop creative
  skills, engage with new technologies and
  contribute to an increased understanding of
  themselves and their environment.
• Alder Hey Childrens Hospital
• One of the largest and busiest children's
  hospitals in Europe. It is an international
  centre of excellence, treating more than 200,000
  children a year.
• www.alderhey.com
• FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative
  Technology)
• FACT, the Foundation for Art Creative
  Technology is the UK's leading organisation for
  the commissioning and presentation of film, video
  and new media art forms.
• www.fact.co.uk

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Artists Projects

• Artist as Researcher and Creative Collaborator
  We invited three international artist's to be an
  artist researcher and creative collaborator on
  the Sonic Streams project.
• Sonic Streams research team is lead by Dr Andrew
  Curran of Alder Hey Childrens Hospital, who is
  currently formulating research strategies to look
  at the impact of each artists commission on the
  Hospital and its patients, staff and visitors.
• Each commissioned artists has worked with Andrew
  and taken on the role as artist as researcher,
  developing work, concepts and creative ideas that
  will have a measurable positive impact on the
  hospital environment and its users.
• Each artist was invited to spend time in Alder
  Hey Childrens Hospital and explore the space.
  Meeting medical professionals including pediatric
  doctors, nurses and play specialists along with
  the lead scientific researcher neuro-surgeon
  Andrew Curran, patients and education team.
• Initial Ideas Responding to the space and
  context, each artist was invited to make a
  proposal for a research theme and work of art,
  developed through a residency at Alder Hey
  Childrens hospital that explored the impact of
  sound upon the human body and the health
  environment. The artists were encouraged to think
  about their works as art works but also as
  therapeutic tools and ideas that would directly
  influence the development of how sound should be
  considered in the development of for new health
  care environments and hospitals.

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Project 1 - Chris Watson Wild Song at Dawn

• In May the 16th 17th, Chris Watson spent
  evenings and early mornings in Springfield Park,
  adjacent to Alder Hey Children's Hospital
  recording detailed aspects of its birdsong.
  During recording Chris was joined by patients,
  staff and local students to capture the bird song
  in this urban park. Children became Chris's
  collaborators and professional wild life
  recordist's, recording the rich array of urban
  birdsong with support of family and carers.
• Via this series of dawn recordings, Chris created
  a number of soundscapes with the aim to offer
  some virtual escapism through sounds of outdoor
  parkland area. From blackbirds chattering within
  Alder Hey hospital corridor, to beautiful
  treasure boxes that deliver the dawn chorus to
  the children's bedside. The aim of Chris's work
  is to explore ways of changing that perception
  and experience by changing the state of mind of
  patients and health workers, using sounds that
  link the person to the outside world.
• Over 150. 000 patients and staff at Alder Hey
  have have experience Wild Song At Dawn since
  its inception

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As part of FACTS commitment to artists at all
stages of their career Lawrence Brown
collaborated with Chris Watson and the patients
at Alder hey to design to beautiful treasure
boxes that deliver the dawn chorus to the
children's bedside
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Project 2 Josh Nimoy - Beautiful
Feedback During his residency at Alder Hey Josh
worked closely with play specialists in the
Neurology Ward. Josh built relationships with
the staff, patients and their families and from
his collaboration with them he developed the
concept of 'Beautiful Feedback'
The overall goal of Josh Nimoy's project is to
introduce experimental approaches to therapy and
the general ward workflow to the benefit of the
patient, whom he view's as the primary audience
of this art project. Josh used his full body
interactive digital work as a research tool both
at FACT and Alder Hey to explore the synthesis of
sound and visuals as a therapeutic
tool. 'Beautiful Feedback' takes its inspiration
from the feedback loops Josh observed during his
residency, a reflection on how children can have
positive and negative responses their clinical
environments and treatment. 'Beautiful
Feedback' considers what forms of interactive,
audiovisual artwork may intervene and re-enforce
positive feedback.
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Sensory Sonic Building Project is a
co-production project led by patients at Alder
Hey Children's Hospital oncology ward.
Project 3 Samantha Jones Sensory Sonic
Building Project
Exploring physical computing and sound within
clinical setting patients designed, programmed
and built personalized Lego Mindstorm Soundbots
hacked interactive retro gaming vests with the
Wii to create physically responsive sound toys
and developed ideas, from sensory sound beds to
full body interactive sounds spaces. Each
patient has developed insightful and innovative
ideas born out of personal experience, commitment
and imagination. The aim of Sensory Sonic
Building Project is to facilitate a process of
transformational change within the patients and
within the physical environment of ward, to allow
a space for new patterns of interaction between
the patients to emerge. This collaborative
research project, also asks the question of
ultimately, how and why we should incorporate
intelligent sensory interfaces into current and
future health care environments.
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Public Participation

• Waiting Rooms The Liverpool Culture Companys
  Waiting Programme which aims to develop creative
  projects in doctors waiting rooms around
  Liverpool has given FACT and Alder Hey the
  opportunity to extend our research further into
  new settings.
• Chris Watsons Wild Song at Dawn is also now
  installed at Everton Medical, Centre Vauxhall
  Medical Centre, Marybone Medical Centre and the
  Life House, on Merseyside.
• Over 50,000 patients and staff in Health Centres
  have experienced Wild Song At Dawn.
• Culture company have also help support out
  participation portal enabling a further online
  audience to to engage, listen and download Wild
  Song at Dawn

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Public Portal
Our sonic landscape is something that perhaps
most of us take for granted, yet the sounds
around us that impact on our health, well being
and influence our emotions and state of mind. If
we were to stop and listen to the environments
that surround us everyday, what would they sound
like? Your home, neighbourhood, journey to work,
working environment, the health care environment
you visit do they make you feel good? We have
created an online sounding board, where
participants can listen to audio soundscapes
created to relax, de-stress and maybe for a few
short minutes transport themselves to another
place. Participants can tell us how the
soundscapes make them feel and discuss the future
of health care. http//.sonicstreams.fact.co.uk
Launched on the 3rd April 08
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• Research as Education
• FACT, Andrew Curran sonic education
  specialists, have collaborated with students to
  research the impact of sound on the human body.
  Participants have researched the effect of sound
  on the human body and the environments they
  inhabit, they have explored sound as a tool for
  health and healthy environments. The have
  developed ideas and sound work that could be
  potentially used as therapeutic tools and
  installed to create healthy sonic environments,
  which can be listen to and view on their research
  journals.
• Sound Education Tool Kit
• Would you like to know how to know how to explore
  sound and it impact on your health and
  environment and participate in our project?
• With our Sonic Streams education toolkit you can
  take the role as researcher and sound artists
• We have developed our Tool Kit for you to learn,
  listen and get involved. Watch our real life
  science experiments, learn how to listen to you
  environment in a new way, record and create
  soundscapes and feedback your own recorded
  soundscapes, research, thoughts, and ideas.

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Creative Collaboration Network

• On the 2nd of April, Sonic Stream will be
  featured in our People Places Presence Event
• Are you working in the field of Sound and/or
  Health, is the future of healthy buildings and
  healthy environments important to you?
• Sonic Streams Research Network - Is an online
  platform for current research into the impact of
  sound on health and the future of healthy spaces.
  
• Please contact Sonic Streams if you whish to
  participate sonicstreams_at_fact.co.uk
• Sonic streams web portal will be launched on the
  3rd Aprill 08
• http//.sonicstreams.fact.co.uk