Electromagnetic Fields symposium: a global connection on the radio
- Written byCreative Research in Sound Arts Practice (CRiSAP)
- Published date 29 September 2026
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How can electromagnetic listening bring sound art, environmental research and scientific sensing closer?
On 9 June 2026, CRiSAP held Electromagnetic Fields: Artistic Research and Radio Waves. Artist-researchers Hannah Kemp-Welch, Lia Mazzari and Anna Clock curated the symposium. The event brought artists and researchers together to explore the electromagnetic spectrum.
Listening around the globe
The artist cooperative Soundcamp hosted the symposium from their Loughborough Junction studio in London. It was broadcast live for eight hours on FM and online, reaching registered attendees across 237 cities and 46 countries. To the studio, visitors brought their own radios, tuning in together under the London sky.
Symposium topics
The symposium included talks, discussions, listening sessions and live performances.
The afternoon opened with the curators Hannah Kemp-Welch, Anna Clock and Lia Mazzari. Their discussion explored natural radio, space listening and environmental streaming.
- Natural radio and the Sounds of Space. Recordings from Antarctica by Nigel Meredith and from Alberta by Stephen P. McGreevy.
- Field listening. Artist talks by Sébastien Robert and Rob Stammes on radio waves and the Northern Lights, and by Anna Friz on radiophonic listening.
- Electrical Walks. Listening session of works by Christina Kubisch on electromagnetic recordings and electrical waves.
- Audible infrastructures. Talks by Angus Carlyle on electrical activity in North Norway/Sápmi, by Emiddio Vasquez on military infrastructures in Cyprus, and by Claire Williams on invisible energies.
As night fell, the broadcast turned to hidden urban noise and the limits of the spectrum.
- Urban Electromagnetic Landscapes. We tuned into a section of Natur by KMRU, a piece that uncovers hidden electromagnetic noise in Berlin and Nairobi.
- Electromagnetic Commons. An artist talk by Celeste Oram and Shortwave Collective on alternative uses of the radio spectrum.
The symposium ended with live sound experiments bringing technology and nature together.
- Electromagnetic multispecies listening. Soundcamp transmitted bat echolocation live.
- Out of Time. Kathy Hinde and Lia Mazzari performed with electromagnetic, aquatic and atmospheric signals.
Advancing the dialogue
The symposium continues to resonate across the sound arts community and beyond the campus:
- Event talks, performances, and listening sessions are archived on Vimeo.
- Symposium co-organiser and CRiSAP PhD researcher Hannah Kemp-Welch is launching the Listening Glossary book at an event co-hosted by CRiSAP at Café OTO, extending CRiSAP’s values of sound pedagogy and collaborative research.
Organisers
CRiSAP PhD student Hannah Kemp-Welch (LCC) and sound artists and researchers Lia Mazzari and Anna Clock curated the event.
London College of Communication (LCC) Research and Soundcamp supported the symposium. Over 500 attendees registered from 237 cities across the UK and 45 other countries. It was a gathering across disciplines, frequencies, and both virtual and physical spaces.
Connect with CRiSAP
To attend future events like this with CRiSAP, sign up to the mailing list. You can also explore CRiSAP’s research archive of over 500 sound arts projects. Watch past CRiSAP research events on Vimeo. Or find out more about PhD and Postgraduate study with CRiSAP.
