The 2025 International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is one of the discipline’s largest and most prestigious gatherings of sound artists, composers, media artists, and scholars. This year ICMC will be held in Boston from June 8-14, 2025.
ICMC Boston 2025 invites submissions for soundwalks, encouraging artists to create site-specific audio experiences in the heart of Boston using the Echoes platform. The Echoes Creator web app is a browser-based platform to create soundwalks, audiowalks, and musical experiences. Using the Creator app, authors upload audio, images, and text to geolocate on a map. Shapes added to the map create geofenced areas that trigger content when listeners physically walk inside. Contributing artists are expected to attend the conference.
The call for soundwalks is a new category at ICMC and we are encouraging submissions from creators with backgrounds in music and sound design as well as those with practices focused on media art, installation, social practice, and site-specific production. We hope this new category will spark lively conversations between artists, composers, and scholars from an array of backgrounds! We also view the site-specific nature of this call as an opportunity to highlight the work of New England creators before an international audience.
The soundwalks will be presented in the Boston Public Garden and/or Boston Common using the Echoes platform. Listeners can simply sign on to Echoes using their smartphone and select a walk to begin an audio AR experience. Gallery support – including headphones –will be provided by the nearby Emerson Media Art Gallery for the duration of the conference.
For all artists whose soundwalk proposals are accepted, training and technical support for the Echoes platform will be provided. This is a great opportunity for artists who are new to digital audio to learn more and experiment in a supportive environment. And for more advanced sound practitioners, Echoes’ advanced features support 3D sound objects, ambisonics, and tempo-syncing that will allow you to create intricate, detailed experiences.
The sound walks will be included in the official conference proceedings.
The deadline for soundwalk proposals is February 15, 2025. Check out the call.