Newsletter for May 2026 (Vol.21; Iss. 5)
Produced by New Adventures in Sound Art
www.naisa.ca

1) NAISA 2026 Call for Submissions: Still Here
2) Springscape Series + Events
3) Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art
4) Pride Concert Launches Sound Travels Festival
5) Sound Travels Exhibition + 4-day Workshop Intensive

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1) NAISA 2026 Call for Submissions: Still Here

Deadline: May 31, 2026
Categories: Sound Art/Electroacoustic, Sound+Image, Radio/Transmission Art, Interactive Installation
View more information
Online application form

New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) invites artists of all ages and nationalities to submit works on the theme “Still Here” for consideration in New Adventures in Sound Art’s 2027 programming.

After 25 years, NAISA is ‘Still Here’ still thriving despite barriers it has faced. Who are the communities and persons that are also ‘still here’ that continue to evolve and develop a unique voice, despite the barriers they too have faced? In this call for submissions, we are inviting artists to submit works that consider the theme ’Still Here’, that communicates their unique voice and the journey it took to get there. At the 25-year mark, NAISA is not planning a retrospective, but rather looking to branch out and present artists that have persevered and developed their own compelling story.

Works submitted by Canadian sound artists will also be eligible for the James Bailey award and the Andra McCartney award.

2) Springscape Series Remaining Events

Darren with Zoom Birdhouse

Almaguin Community Soundscapes
April 2 – May 31, 2026, Open Thursday – Monday, 10am – 4pm
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
Admission by Donation

Almaguin Community Soundscapes is an exhibition that surrounds one with the sounds of spring using a multi-channel speaker system and recordings made by residents of the Almaguin Highlands. The spring season is a special time of the year in the region as the snow melts, the ice breaks up on the lakes and the arrival of insects and birds is loudly announced by the sounds made by peepers.

To contribute sounds from a location you know in the Almaguin Highlands consult these guidelines or visit us at NAISA. Listen to a selection of the recordings from this community project by visiting Aporee.org.

Voice of the Water by Eric Powell
Permanent Installation | Ongoing
Pay by Donation

Voice of the Water is an interactive rotary telephone-based listening station. Using sounds collected from inside the lakes and rivers around South River, Voice of the Water encourages listeners to connect with the local waterways as they explore the boundaries and overlaps between planes of existence. Visit here for more information.

3) Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art

June 6 – September 12, 2026
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
naisa.ca/festivals/sound-travels

New Adventures in Sound Art (NAISA) is hosting the 28th edition of the Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art with performances, installations and a 4-day workshop intensive. Together these events explore the ‘Sound Culture’ of Water—how the sound of water is shaped by its cultural use, spiritual practices and human engineering.

4) Pride Concert launches Sound Travels Festival

June 6, 2026 at 7pm | Doors open at 6pm for café service and special video screening
In-person at NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River. Online audiences register in advance for access.
Tickets $15 | Purchase tickets

The Sound Travels Festival of Sound Art opens with a Pride Concert celebrating two 2SLGBTQI+ artists from different generations. This concert is sponsored by Almaguin Pride.

kat estacio is a soundmaker and researcher who is now based in Tsí Tkaròn:to (Toronto). Anchoring kulintang, an Indigenous gong ensemble music tradition from Mindanao (Southern Philippines), as a site of divergence and retrieval, estacio is bridging archipelago narratives of percussive sound making and land-based tending from a diasporic perspective.

Barry Truax has been a leader in the fields of Acoustic Ecology and Electroacoustic Music, and recently his achievements were recognized with the Order of Canada. His Elemental Trilogy of works features his very personal response to elemental sounds in his pieces What the Waters Told Me, How the Winds Caressed Me and When the Earth Mourned for Me. His video work Androgyne, Mon Amour from 1997 featuring Bassist Robert Black will be screened in the workshop studio prior to the concert from 6 to 7pm and played online following the concert.

5) Sound Travels Exhibition + 4-day Intensive

Lina Choi, Waterscape

Waterscape by Lina Choi
June 11 – September 7, 2026
NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
Admission by Donation
View more information

Waterscape is a sound sculpture by Lina Choi that produces water-like sounds through small motor-driven devices. Each element creates subtle drops and flows, forming an evolving, immersive sound environment. Inspired by the movement of water, the work reinterprets these rhythms through mechanical systems, blurring the line between natural and artificial. The surrounding sounds invite listeners to slow down and experience a shifting sonic landscape.

Sound Travels Workshop Intensive
July 16 – 20, 2026
Warbler’s Roost, 3785D Eagle Lake Road, South River
$678 with 4 nights accommodation and $495 with no accommodation.
Advance registration required

This 4-day Intensive will provide the infrastructure for sound artists to create sound art works that includes the soundscape of a location and respond in-kind. Participants’ work will be facilitated by NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland along with 3 guest artists. Equipment for audio playback will be provided by NAISA. The Weathered Piano site at Warbler’s Roost can also be accessed for staging performances and installations.

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New Adventures in Sound Art is a non-profit organization that presents performances and installations spanning the entire spectrum of sound art. NAISA is partially funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts. NAISA would also like to thank Reuten Construction, Charles Street Video, and Warbler’s Roost for their sponsorship of its Spinrgscape Series 2026.

NAISA North Media Arts Centre is Accessible

Inquiries & general information:
Nadene Thériault-Copeland, Executive Director
New Adventures in Sound Art
313 Highway 124, South River, ON P0A 1X0
705-386-0880