Durham-Norway Connections Grow with the Exploring Arctic Soundscapes Project

Connections between Norway and Durham go way back. It was the sacking of Lindisfarne by Norwegian Vikings in 793 that led to the internment of St Cuthbert in Durham, and this led to the establishment of Durham Cathedral and, ultimately, Durham University.

These research connections were put on stage when Durham’s Exploring Arctic Soundscapes project came to SALT, Oslo’s harbourside festival concert space.

The Exploring Arctic Soundscapes project was initiated by Durham’s Institute of Advanced Study in 2020 to explore how a focus on sound could build new transdisciplinary methodologies for researching and communicating the complexities of Arctic and marine environments. It has brought together researchers from Durham’s Departments of Biosciences, Geography, and Music with Norwegian artists and academics from UiT: The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, NTNU: The Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, and the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Additional participants included the Durham Arctic Research Centre for Training and Interdisciplinary Collaboration (DurhamARCTIC) and The Whale, a world class museum being constructed on the Norwegian island of Andøya, 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

The 20 October event at SALT featured performances of two original compositions – Ábifruvvá by Durham Assistant Professor of Composition Eric Skytterholm Egan and Bleikdjupet by Norwegian sound artist Jana Winderen -- based on field recordings made during a team research trip to Andøya and surrounding seas. Additionally, the event featured a roundtable discussion with the seven-person Exploring Arctic Soundscapes team, where they considered how a focus on sound can build connections across species, disciplinary approaches, and national divides, as well as a presentation from Hanne Strager, Director for Experience and Exhibition at the Whale, that laid out an agenda for bringing this innovative way of thinking to the public.

Durham’s Assistant Professor of Geography, Jessica Lehman, and 
Assistant Professor of Composition, Eric Skytterholm Egan, 
discuss 
the Exploring Arctic Soundscapes 
project with 
Norwegian artist Jana Winderen.

*First Photo:

Marie Schreer plays the sympolin, performing Eric Skytterholm Egan’s Ábifruvvá