Common Ground: Solo Exhibition at Otterbein University

This fall, I have a solo exhibition at the Miller Gallery at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. This includes three sound and visual projects from my many years of work in Appalachian Ohio—Shawnee, Ohio, Forest Listening Rooms, and Moonshine Parade—and it is the first time that they have been presented together. I’m also excited to share that we will be presenting a public screening of Shawnee, Ohio, as well as numerous workshops with classes from across the university. Coincidentally, I grew up in Westerville, so I will be exploring new and old soundscapes of the town with students throughout the fall. 

Taken together, I am hoping these works provide a stark and radically different alternative to J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and that they show ways in which Appalachian Ohio communities work together and support each other. It seems especially important to share these works with students and faculty in a learning environment, as a way to fight against regional stereotypes.

I'm also collaborating with artist Cadine Navarro on her project It Sounds Like Love (also at Otterbein, at the Frank Museum), which explores the sounds of prairie grass seeds and how they might be represented visually.

 The exhibition will be open from August 23 through November 17. You can find more information about it below, along with location and hours.

PODCAST: COVID CONVERSATIONS

I was happy to be a part of the "Covid Conversations: Life in a Time of Corona" podcast, presented by Ohio State University’s Center For Folklore Studies. Host Rachel Hopkin brought together Finnish composer, sound artist, and filmmaker Päiví Takala and myself for a fascinating conversation on our practices, our reaction to the pandemic, and our current projects. I really enjoyed talking with them, and learned much in the process.

I hope you enjoy it—happy listening!
—Brian