Maria Balabas

Home Is Where Listening Happens

Lecture

What does it mean to be at home? Can listening practices be connected to a broader sense of home? In this presentation, the author connects Arne Næss’s concept of ecosophy with soundwalking and the practice of connected listening as developed by Abigail Gardner, in order to propose her own interpretation of rural futurism (Leandro Pisano).

She argues that sound walks carried out with the intention of creating new connections and emotional circuits can contribute to the development of frameworks for a multilayered understanding of relationships between humans and the natural environment, thus expanding the idea of ruralism. The work explores feelings of belonging—to household, natural environment, community, person, or animals—that emerge from connected listening and soundwalking practices, and examines how these contribute to a deeper understanding of ecosophy.

Rural futurism is also addressed as a sensitive process of emotions and values reflected in sound practices.

What does it mean to be at home? Can listening practices be connected to a broader sense of home? In this presentation, the author connects Arne Næss’s concept of ecosophy with soundwalking and the practice of connected listening as developed by Abigail Gardner, in order to propose her own interpretation of rural futurism (Leandro Pisano).

She argues that sound walks carried out with the intention of creating new connections and emotional circuits can contribute to the development of frameworks for a multilayered understanding of relationships between humans and the natural environment, thus expanding the idea of ruralism. The work explores feelings of belonging—to household, natural environment, community, person, or animals—that emerge from connected listening and soundwalking practices, and examines how these contribute to a deeper understanding of ecosophy.

Rural futurism is also addressed as a sensitive process of emotions and values reflected in sound practices.

Maria Balabas

Radio producer, sound artist, and sound researcher based in Bucharest. She creates music-experimental radio programs, and her documentaries and contributions have been nominated at various international competitions. Her work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions. She actively develops her own artistic practice and promotes soundwalking within the Romanian art scene, particularly through the project Sunete care umblă (Sounds That Walk), traveling festivals, and smaller cultural initiatives across the country.

Lecturer: Maria Balabas
Photo: Matej Tomažin

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