We are about to celebrate our sixth Sound Walk September, for which we have been running Awards for four consecutive years. September is always and exciting month as contributors who love a deadline, get their submissions in before the 30 September closing date, and as Awards Administrators we get the earliest chance to listen to the pieces. This year we have changed the judging procedure, such that we have an on-line group of jurors drawn from our community of contributors who listen and review the submitted pieces, and shortlist them – previously, it was us three administrators who had that task, but as the Awards grew in popularity, we were having to review dozens of entries – this way the task is shared out to many more!
Once the shortlist is confirmed, those pieces pass to our Grand Jurors, who are acknowledged experts in the field, and they have the tough job of choosing the winner and honourable mentions. This year, is the first year we have been able to offer a cash prize to the winner, and the size of the prize is determined by the number of supporting members we have to walk · listen · create, the hosting community and online platform.
Last year, we invited the previous year’s winners to talk about their work, and finding this popular, we have created an on-line Cafe event on Tuesday September to which last year’s winners have been invited. They include twice-winner Laura Mitcheson, who created a ghostly sound walk around a church in London’s Stoke Newington; Isabella Bonner-Evans and Tony Onuchukwu who created an immersive experience at the Birling Gap, on the chalk cliffs on the south coast; Eleanor Ryecroft, who captured 17 voices of women walking in protest at night across the Clifton Downs in Bristol, to be joined by Jo Scott who created walk in Manchester challenging our assumptions about the Smart Digital city.
There is still time to submit to the SWS Awards 2023, if you are making a sound walk, and it is worth tuning into the Cafe for some tips and to find out how our previous winners made their work so engaging and enjoyable for the listener.
Later in the month, we are working with Footways London who have designated a Listen to London route, away from busy roads, that provides those on foot the opportunity of listening to ambient sounds of their surroundings, and should they choose to, they can tune into audio podcasts about the buildings and spaces they pass by. Having taken over the management of the innovative Placecloud app, we have made it easier for people to contribute their stories of buildings and places, and we are encouraging those who walk the Listen to London route, to contribute their own stories to Placecloud, for others to encounter.
