The Sound Art and Auditory Culture lab (SAAC)

The Sound Art and Auditory Culture lab (SAAC)

Two microphones placed around chunks of ice facing water

The Sound Art and Auditory Culture lab (SAAC) is an interdisciplinary hub for exchanging ideas around the creative uses of sound and auditory knowledge in society, culture and the environment.

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SAAC aims to advance contemporary sound studies by investigating the complex relationships and interactions underpinning contemporary society. One of SAAC’s primary research areas includes Environmental Sound Art, where artistic practices utilise sound to engage with ecological issues, raising awareness about climate change and fostering a deeper connection with nature. By examining Social Soundscapes, SAAC analyses how soundscapes reflect and influence social dynamics, including how sound can reinforce or challenge social hierarchies and community cohesion. This research is crucial for understanding how auditory environments impact societal interactions and for developing strategies to promote inclusion and agency.

Additionally, SAAC explores the role of sound in shaping cultural and social memories through its focus on Sound and Memory. This research investigates how auditory experiences contribute to the formation and transmission of collective and individual identities, enriching understanding of how memories are preserved and recalled. By integrating new perceptions of sound in contemporary art, SAAC examines how sound art intersects with other art forms, such as visual arts and digital media, to create innovative auditory experiences that challenge traditional notions of art. This interdisciplinary approach expands the boundaries of contemporary art practices and offers fresh perspectives on how sound can address pressing social and environmental issues. Through these diverse research themes, SAAC aims to foster a deeper understanding of the multifaceted role of sound.

Key Research Areas

Acoustic Ecology

Investigates the relationship between humans and their environment through sound, focusing on how natural and urban soundscapes impact ecological and human well-being.

Soundscape Composition

Examines the creation of soundscapes as artistic expressions that reflect and influence cultural and social environments, often highlighting ecological issues and human interactions.

Ecoacoustics

Studies the ecological role of sound in natural habitats, including the impact of environmental changes on animal communication and the broader ecological implications of these changes.

Auditory Culture

Explores how societies understand and value sound, including the cultural practices and social norms that shape listening habits and auditory experiences in different environments.

Sound and Memory

Investigates how sound contributes to the formation and transmission of cultural and social memories, and how auditory experiences shape collective and individual identities.

Environmental Sound Art

Focuses on artistic practices that use sound to engage with ecological issues, raising awareness about environmental challenges and fostering a deeper connection with nature through auditory experiences.

Social Soundscapes

Analyses how soundscapes reflect and influence social dynamics, including the ways in which sound can reinforce or challenge social hierarchies, identities, and community cohesion.

Ephemeral and Temporal Aspects

Investigates the transient nature of sound art, focusing on how temporality and the ephemeral quality of sound influence the creation, perception, and preservation of sound artworks in contemporary art contexts.

Feature Projects

Power generator

Subterranean Sonics led by Professor Philip Samartzis

This project records the concealed spaces and infrastructure of the Valais Canton in Switzerland, including glacio-hydrological systems, nuclear shelters, and a military base, to express their civic and political functions. It symbolises critical discussions on climate emergency and global security and is produced with the Verbier 3-D Foundation and the Valais School of Art (EDHEA).

A close-up of an installation with objects.

Spectral Geologies led by D.A Calf

This project explores the act of listening as a creative re-imagining of the role of sound in the transmission and sequestration of memory and a speculative conceptualisation of the duration of audibility. It investigates how this approach suggests new possibilities for framing histories of place that offer unofficial, social, and multi-vocal histories counter to official and top-down narratives.

A boat in the water

Meta-Mangrovis: Perception of Ecological Transformation of Mangrove Landscapes through Contemporary Sonic Arts Practice by Pratyay Raha

This project explores how sound recording in mangroves can deepen understanding of the climate emergency. By documenting mangrove soundscapes in India and Australia, this project will reveal the regional impacts caused by climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, industrialisation and excessive anthropogenic activities to advocate for their preservation.

​Photo etching of a digital photo collage from the site.

Porosity of the Frame: Material Experiments on the Boundary between Art and Everyday Life led by Justas Pipinis

This project experiments with an open-ended artistic research strategy guided by tension arising from alternately reframing fragments of the environment as commonplace and art. Shifting reference frames confuse sensemaking, kindling new insights and artistic experiences.

People

Professor Philip Samartzis

Philip Samartzis is a professor in the School of Art with a specific interest in remote regions and their communities. He is a three time recipient of an Australian Antarctic Territory Art Fellowship.

View Philip's profile

D.A Calf

D.A Calf is a Phd candidate in the School of Art. He holds a BA (Hons) Fine Art (Sound Art & Spatial Sculpture) from RMIT University and a BA (Philosophy/Politics double major) from the University of Newcastle (AU).

View D.A Calf's profile

Pratyay Raha

Pratyay Raha is a PhD candidate in the School of Art. He holds an MA in Composition and Creative Music Practice from the University of Limerick in Ireland.

View Pratyay's profile

Justas Pipinis

Justas Pipinis is a PhD candidate in the School of Art. He holds an MFA from RMIT and an MSc in Anthropology from Stockholm University.

View Justas's profile

Lingam. K

Lingam is a PhD Student in the School of Arts. Lingam is a research-based lens artist whose work lies at the intersection of art and science.

Contact

Professor Philip Samartzis

philip.samartzis@rmit.edu.au

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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aboriginal flag
torres strait flag

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business.

More information