Plan for post university

As my time as university is now coming to an end, I am starting to think about the next steps of what I want to do, where I want to take my practice and what new things I want to learn. I have decided that I would like to take some time out of being a sonic artist for a while post university. Having spent the last 3 years at LCC, a year before that at the Manchester Metropolitan university and before that 18 straight years in full time education, I would like to take some time away and explore new non-academic paths. Being pushed to create and leave ideas over and over again at university has in a sense pushed me away from wanting to go straight into the industry. I want to take some time to grow and explore different avenues that will eventually inform my practice.

This will look like attending a herbalism course in North Wales that will better my understanding of the ways in which we can collaborate with the more-than-human. From this I am wanting to apply for a horticultural course in London which will further my understanding of how the more-than-human live grow and die. I want to now take a very hands-on approach to working with the more-than-human. From this I have been researching into regenerative farm work aways where I can be taught and elevate my knowledge on the growing and cultivating of plants and the relationship between the human and more-than-human. I have currently been looking at Portugal and Cornwall.

I have also been looking into permaculture courses in Portugal to teach me about regenerative agriculture. All these courses are focused on understanding and working with the land. I believe that by exploring all of these options I will only better my understanding of what it really means to collaborate with the more-than-human and at the same time inform myself and learn so much about the seasons – how things grow – how to respect and take care of these beings and thus apply this to a sonic way of thinking and experimenting. It has also become increasingly apparent that with the decline of the climate food shortages and prices will sky rocket. If I learn now the skills of regenerative agriculture and how to respect and steward the land, I will be able to become completely reliable on myself for what I need. This is my stand up to ecological activism which has been the foundation of my sonic work throughout my time at university.

Whilst studying these courses I will also be doing set design on the side. I have reached out to multiple friends and professional that I have worked on sets with before and will hopefully be working freelance with any jobs that come my way. The set world that I will be a part of will be as ecologically based as possible, working with people like the Green Art Department who I refence in my appraisal. My knowledge from foraging plus all of these courses I hope to do, will better inform my ecological set design skills and knowledge of how to work with the seasons.

After some time, I hope to revisits university for an MA in ecological sound or something related to explore and further my final project where I created a methodology to collaborate with the more-than-human. I believe that my time spent exploring these other avenues will make me a highly informed artists who understand more aspects than just the sonic.