Electromagnetic Touch: Radios and Community – Hands-on Radio Circuit Experimentation
As part of the Found in Translation series funded by the PA Humanities and National Endowment for the Humanities, Fleisher Art Memorial and Asian Arts Initiative are proud to present Electromagnetic Touch: Radios and Community, a series of workshops organized by the Sound Museum Collective of Philadelphia. The Collective holds space to reconstruct our relationship to sounds by creating a platform for women, nonbinary, and trans sound artists and engineers through workshops, collaborative projects, and creative community partnerships. The seminar includes both online and in-person engagements, including a historical overview of radio history, hands-on experimentation with radio technologies, and developing radio stories through Queer perspectives.
Found in Translation is a free series of art history and critical theory workshops organized by Fleisher in partnership with several cultural institutions throughout Philadelphia. The series specifically focuses on centering BIPOC and Queer voices, reflecting a more inclusive view of the communities we work with. Found in Translation, aligned with Fleisher’s mission of making art more accessible through our education and community programs, brings these valuable perspectives to a broader public. All seminars will be provided with live Spanish interpretation.
Hands-on Radio Circuit Experimentation
Monday, April 18, 2022, 6:30 – 8:30pm
This workshop will be a hands-on building opportunity for the community to familiarize themselves with radio technology in a more tactile way. This workshop will involve tinkering that contributes to the conceptual art piece that SMC is building for AAI. In this way, this work of art is further engaging with the community as they work with SMC to create this radio art. By doing so, it will also be an introduction to a unique form of technical literacy. In this workshop we will be dissecting portable battery powered radios. This will serve as an introduction to the mechanical functionality of the radio. Additionally, we will be removing the circuit board from its enclosure and turning it into an unconventional instrument by having participants use their bodies as an antenna and playing the circuit-board. The result will be interesting squeaks, noises and perhaps radio station broadcasts. These circuit boards and speakers will then be used in the creation of an interactive wall that will be a part of the final art exhibition.