Emily Carr University of Art + Design

On April 25th, 2024, the Basically Good Media Lab hosted Durations V2, a student-led deep listening party and video art show created to highlight emerging voices from the local arts scene and present works in new media, sound/video art, and performance. 

Organized and curated by BGML’s research assistants Rafael Zen and Khalil Alomar, the event transformed ECUAD’s IMS into an immersive environment where students, instructors, and members from the community gathered to engage with artworks in the first stages of conceptualization, most being shown to the public for the first time, and provide artists with feedback that supports the early stages of their careers. 

The project started with Durations V1 in 2023, supported by Massy Arts Gallery, when New Media + Sound Art students from Emily Carr University felt the need to create a space in which experimental compositions from the courses Sound Essentials and New Media + Sound Art Core Studio could be shared with local audiences. Through the collaboration with the Indigenous-led gallery in Vancouver’s Chinatown, eleven students showcased their works in sound art, guiding attendees in a 50-minutes deep listening session that invited sounds from the East Pender Street and the centenary Ming Wo building to become part of the field-recording-based compositions. 

“Wishing to create a cost-free event open to all, it was important for us, students, to cultivate dialogue with our closest communities. The experiments we create only make sense when shared among the local cultural scene, knowing that the artwork becomes alive when audiences give us their time and attention, something so precious in this late stage of colonial-capitalism. For art students, it’s necessary to have a space where audience appreciation can be fostered, and direct/horizontal dialogue between artist/audience is possible”, said Zen. 

Durations V2 

As an incubator for new ideas and experimentations in new media + performance, Durations V2’s line-up was composed by: Rafael Zen, Khalil Alomar, Kaila Bhullar, Anat Elkayam, Yona Cha, Marina Morrison, Myles Veltenhill, Miranda Firmston, Joseph Lu, and Jonathan Tsang. 

Click here to listen to compositions featured in Durations V2 

Click here to watch scenes from Durations V2 

Supported by the Basically Good Media Lab, Durations will have ongoing iterations in 2024/2025, following the schedule: 

Durations V3 – June, 2024 

Durations V4 – August, 2024 

Durations V5 – November, 2024 

Durations V6 – February, 2025 

Local emerging artists that wish to show their artworks in sound art, video art, experimental composition, field recording composition, or performance, should send a proposal to Rafael Zen at: rzen@ecuad.ca

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Credits: 1 – Attendees gathered around the deep listening session – Courtesy of Khalil Alomar / 2 – Artworks in new media and sound art exhibited at V2 – Courtesy of Rafael Zen