University of Greenwich Sound/Image Festival
For years, I’ve been on a quest to find “my people”: artists, musicians and technologists who explore the confluence of art, music, and technology in an intuitive, seamless way. Coloratura exists in this weird and wonderful confluence of creativity and circuitry that doesn’t quite fit in any one space. I often felt like a solo pioneer, straddling various disciplines, cultures, identities, and realities.
When I attended the Sound/Image Festival at the University of Greenwich this month, I felt that I’d truly found my kindred spirits, a cadre of like-minded creators from all over the world who were passionate about exploring and expanding the boundaries of the audiovisual world.
I’d learned about the conference a few years ago, and when applications opened earlier this summer, I applied on a whim. I had no expectation that my proposal would be accepted, as most participants were professors, lecturers, graduate students and others affiliated with an educational institution. I consider myself a “feral autodidact” with no formal training in visual arts, music or technology, so I was absolutely gobsmacked when I learned that I’d been invited to curate a 2-hour hands-on Coloratura workshop for some of the top sound and audiovisual artists in the world.
No pressure!
Creating content for the workshop itself was daunting, but I was even more concerned about the logistics of getting my equipment overseas. Transporting all of my Coloratura gear is no small feat; I learned this the hard way in March 2024, when I took my performance and interactive setups on a plane for the first time to Georgia Tech’s Guthman Musical Instrument Competition. Due to poor planning, I had to pay hundreds of dollars in overweight baggage fees. I was determined not to deal with that issue this time, so I spent months making Coloratura as travel-friendly as possible; my interactive and performance rigs both fit into a checked bag, 47lbs each. Success!
Once I overcame the logistical issues, I had to deal with a different challenge: my own self-doubt. I often feel like an imposter: I don’t have formal training in art, music or technology; I’m just a regular girl who had an idea, saw no one else doing it, and spent the past nine years making it a reality. I often worry that my lack of credentials will make people dismiss my work as frivolous or unserious. I’ve had a few challenging encounters with cultural gatekeepers here in the states, so I was concerned how my project might be received in the UK. Even though my conference proposal had been accepted out of 500+ applications, I worried that my project wouldn’t live up to the conference organizers’ expectations, and I worried that conference attendees would see my project as overly simplistic and devoid of academic merit.
Fortunately, my fears were completely unfounded; both Coloratura and I were warmly embraced by everyone we met. People were genuinely curious and inspired by my unique journey of tinkering and experimentation outside of the confines of academia, and they were impressed with level of intention and care I’d put into making Coloratura into a user-friendly, modular tool for all abilities, from children to professional artists.
In most Coloratura workshops, I use a smaller demo setup where users have only five notes/paintbrushes and a limited bank of sounds. But for this professional audience, for the first time ever, I also set up the two full-size boards that I use for my performances. The boards have twelve brushes each and users can connect them directly to their own computers to interface with their personal audio workstations.I got loads of great questions, great suggestions, and requests for future collaborations, so hopefully I’ll be hopping across the pond in the near future.
Presenting a workshop was a highlight of my trip, but the best part of the conference was the opportunity to see, interact with, and learn from other artists at the top of their field who were using technology in amazing, innovative ways . The conference featured lectures, interactive workshops, installation work, performances, all of them riveting and cutting edge.
Two talks, in particular, resonated with me deeply as they focused on the “meta-culture” of experimental sound and audiovisual art. This is not a financially lucrative field and it requires quite a bit of privilege to engage in this work. Thus the demographic skews towards the white, male, middle-to-upper-class demographic.
Cornelia Lund, a lecturer from Berlin, shared her research on the benefits of “decolonizing” experimental music spaces and how infusing and uplifting non-Western artists, perspectives, and techniques can bring rich, transformative possibilities to this art form. Another speaker, a self-taught sound artist from a working-class UK background, discussed his work teaching sound art to underprivileged youth in his hometown, which gave them hands-on experience with new technologies and fostered a sense of agency and creative play.
While there was a significant representation of South Asian, East Asian, and Middle Eastern presenters and performers from the UK and abroad, I was the only Black presenter. I’m used to being “the only” in these spaces, so hearing these talks about the value of diverse perspectives — not just racially, but also in terms of socioeconomic background, gender, and beyond — was refreshing. In a field dedicated to pushing boundaries and forging new paths, perspectives from outside the mainstream are vital. Outsider perspectives bring fresh, new ways of being, thinking, and doing that can positively impact all of our work.
I was able to learn so much from so many other people’s experiences, but I was also honored when people asked me about my practice and asked me to help them incorporate some of my techniques into their own work. I’m never defensive or protective about the elements of my work; the only way I’ve been able to get to where I am today is because other artists so generously shared their knowledge. None of us is doing this to get rich and famous; we just love creating! And the only thing I love more than creating myself is helping others to create.
Many, many thanks to Dr. Andrew Knight-Hill, director of the Sound/Image Festival, for inviting me to attend this phenomenal event. I also have to give my gratitude to my dad, who accompanied me on this trip and helped me lug all of my gear across the pond; my old college roommate Jennifer, who took a 3hr train from northern England to come visit me; and to all of the fine Britons who gave me delicious recommendations to check off my British Cuisine bucket list*
*If you’re curious:
A pint of local lager
Steak & kidney pudding from Weatherspoon’s
Lamb pie & mash w/gravy and liquor from Goddard’s
Fish & chips (2nd best I’ve had in my life)
Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby Curry
Full English Breakfast (no black pudding)
Smarties
The British Equivalent of Mexican Food (not bad, but definitely not Mexican)
Sunday Roast
Sausage Roll & Festive Bake from Greggs
Boxing Day Toastie from Pret a Manger