Play It By Ear is an interactive sound sculpture for Butler Memorial Park in Edmonton (Treaty 6).
Latest posts
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Design Process
Developing a new artwork capable of surviving a long-term installation in an outdoor winter city is challenging at the best of times, but we just happened to begin designing Play It By Ear at the beginning of a global pandemic. While COVID delayed the project significantly, it also allowed more time for research and development.…
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The Artwork
Play It By Ear is an interactive sound sculpture inviting a neighbourhood to talk to itself. 13 short-distance telephones connect people across Butler Memorial Park in Edmonton/Amiskwaciwâskahikan. How do we connect with people far away? How do we “tune-in” to someone else’s world? How can we learn to hear and understand each other more clearly?…
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Why Telephones?
There is a huge cell tower next to the park beside a historic AGT building. My Grandmother was a Switchboard Operator in the 1950s in Edmonton, and I immediately thought of her experience talking over vast distances. We wanted to design an artwork that would encourage people in the park to get to know their…
Why Telephones?
Butler Memorial Park is an outdoor living room for many. Tucked between a historic Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) building and an Edmonton Bus Station, it is a place of transitions and missed connections. Some people live here, others play here, still more pass through, sometimes forgetting to stop and talk to the strangers who could be friends. You’re invited to pick up a telephone and have a conversation with your neighbour – play it by ear!
Want to participate?
Play It By Ear is an interactive audio sculpture! Want to check out the finished piece? Stop by anytime – Play It By Ear is a long-term public artwork. The installation will be there!
Now Open!
Play It By Ear 