This year, as part of the experimental music festival “Skaņu Mežs”, Christina Kubisch’s “Electrical Walks” will return to Riga after 20 years. The festival will take place on October 9 and 10, and in addition to the main concert evenings, a collaboration with the Goethe-Institut Riga will present the “Electrical Walks” by the German first‑generation sound artist – these walks are an idiosyncratic form of interdisciplinary art that invites the public to explore the city while listening to the sounds revealed through special headphones. Kubisch’s “Electrical Walks” turn the electromagnetic fields of urban space into an audible experience, transforming an ordinary walk into a sonic discovery.
How to experience “Electrical Walks” in Riga?
The walks will be available free of charge on working days, 12:00-18:00, from September 28 to October 9, as well as on Saturday, October 10, during the second day of the festival, 10:00-15:00. The starting point for the walks and the place where headphones are issued is the Goethe-Institut Riga (Marijas Street 13 k-1). A valid ID is required. The walk is not suitable for children under 12 years of age.
For both weeks, from Wednesday to Friday, 15:00-18:00, “The Mixer Project” – developed by Christina Kubisch and Tom Thiel – will be available as a mixing station at the Goethe-Institut Riga, inviting every visitor to become a composer. Using an intuitive four-channel controller, anyone – even beginners – can mix the acoustic and electromagnetic sounds recorded during the Riga walks and create their own personalised “urban music” compositions.
Discourse activities
The “Electrical Walks” program in Riga will be complemented with two public events.
On September 29 at 16:00, there will be a guided city exploration with headphones together with Christina Kubisch. The walk will conclude with a conversation that will allow participants not only to discuss their experience but also to understand Kubisch’s aesthetic and technical aims. The number of participants is limited (10), so prior registration is required: https://ej.uz/electricalwalk. The language of the event is English.
On September 30 at 18:30, the Goethe-Institut will host a meeting with the artist – a talk in which she will introduce the audience to her creative practice and the experience she has gained working in the field of electronic and experimental music in its early stages. She will share the beginnings of her career and the challenges she faced, as well as her observations on how the role and visibility of women in electronic music have changed over the course of her career. The language of the talk is German with translation into Latvian.
Komentarai