Hannah Kemp-Welch is a sound artist with a socially-engaged practice. She produces audio works with community groups for installation and broadcast, using voices, field recordings and found sounds. She also delivers workshops, makes zines and builds basic radios, aiming to open out sonic practices and technologies for all. Hannah is a member of the feminist radio art group Shortwave Collective and arts cooperative Soundcamp.
Hannah is currently a PhD student with CRiSAP, developing and testing methodologies for collective listening within socially-engaged art.
I found Hannah’s talk to be very moving, specifically her project The Right to Record. https://www.sound-art-hannah.com/right-to-record
It reminded me once again of a topic that came up when I attended the Ultra-Red sessions at LCC (and met Hannah previously), where do we place ourselves in this work. Its important not to come across as some kind of protagonist, and to give others the tools to express themselves instead of dictating the piece.
This project was successful in telling an empathetic story unknown to me, that has also been impactful in lobbying the government to act and change these corrupt laws.
I also found the topic of the Shortwave Collective to be interesting and I’m happy about it existing in order to explore shortwave radio outside of the current older, male-dominated scene and structure. I’m interested in shortwave radio myself, mostly thanks to recordings of scanner and number stations in works by Godspeed You! Black Emporer, Tim Hecker, William Basinski and the Conet Project.