MARIE ANNE BÉRARD

Opening reception : Friday, May 19, 2023 ‑ 5 pm

Marie Anne Bérard, a student in the master’s programme in sound creation at the Université de Montréal, was in residency at Sporobole from July 25 to August 8, 2022. The sound work resulting from this residency will be broadcast in the sound window from May 19 to June 18, 2023.

ALMANAC

Almanac (n.): a paper work published annually and used as an instrument of orientation in time. The almanac contains all the important events of a specific day – called ephemeris – as well as tips and tricks, poems, stories and legends. It is always different and changes according to the interactions of the public and new astronomical and weather predictions.

Inspired by the concept of the almanac, the created artwork is a sound log in which the artist has noted her daily observations and moods throughout her residency at Sporobole and transformed them into compositional material. These sounds will have various origins: synthesizer sequences, words, soundscapes recorded each day, etc. Each speaker of the sound window broadcasts the sounds of a different day, in a random way, thus provoking various interactions between these time capsules. By moving under the speakers, one discovers each day of the residency. Passers-by will be able to (re)discover the city’s soundscapes, to become aware of the sounds that surround us and to anchor themselves in the territory, – being attentive and present.

As an infinitely renewable source of energy, Almanac proposes to link the public to the immutable phenomena of our environment and to live in harmony amongst them. This approach reminds us of the importance of marveling at what surrounds us, and that everything can be music.