Wetland Project: a free immersive sound experience at the Canadian Cultural Centre

Are you ready to experience an unusual immersion in the heart of Canadian biodiversity? From April 22 to May 20, 2023, the Canadian Cultural Center in Paris opens its doors for free to the"Wetland Project" and invites the most curious to dive into " The Marsh of ṮEḴTEḴSEN ". On the program? An immersive sound and color experience to discover the biodiversity of wetlands and its animals on Saturna Island, located in British Columbia, Canada.

The idea of this experience? To offer visitors an exploration of a natural sound environment, in this case the ṮEḴTEḴSEN Marsh, located very exactly on the ancestral and unceded sacred lands and waters of the W̱SÁNEĆ First Nations. During this unique immersion, visitors are thus invited to listen to the sounds emanating from this remote part of the world.

For ten years, artists Brady Marks and Mark Timmings, along with musicologist Stephen Morris, have studied " this soundscape." Wetland Project is a multidisciplinary, multi-part exploration of this natural environment based on an initial 24-hour field recording, captured by a total of 5 microphones.

To fully enjoy this experience, visitors are invited to slow down and take a seat in the middle of the main room, located in the basement of the Canadian Cultural Centre. It is here that immersion awaits visitors. One can hear the bewitching song of several species ofbirds, but also the croaking of frogs, the sound of insects and, more surprisingly, the roar of a few airplanes that seem to come from the Parisian sky.

Original and poetic, the experience is also conceptual, because the artists propose to the visitors a real synchrony of sounds. Thus, the sound broadcasted at 10 am in Paris is the one that can be heard exactly at 10 am on Saturna Island.

If the experience is above all aural, Brady Marks and Mark Timmings also wanted to bring a visual side. But don't expect images of birds or frogs to be projected. In order for the audience to focus on the sound, and only the sound that emanates from this marsh, the two artists imagined a concept allowing " listening with the eyes ". Thus, 5 light fabrics - corresponding to the 5 microphones placed in the marsh - were installed in suspension in the center of the room of the Canadian Cultural Center.

Thanks to an ingenious algorithm, these fabrics change color according to the frequency broadcasted: from purple for the lowest frequency to red for the highest. Thus, when the wind blows, the fabric becomes blue. When the frogs sing, it turns green.

The experience continues on the first floor with the " Wetland Senario " and a headphone performance by the Vancouver-based vocal ensemble Musica Intima.

To take it a step further, the Canadian Cultural Centre is also planning to broadcast this"soundscape" onto the street in a subtle way; enough to surprise and arouse the curiosity of Parisians who pass in front of the building!

Visit the Canadian Cultural Centre from April 22 to May 20 to live this unique and free experience.

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Please note that the opening of this experience will take place on April 22, Earth Day, from noon to 8 pm. On this occasion, Les Cris de Paris, one of the most innovative French musical groups, will perform"Wetland Senario", during three free sound performances(accessible upon reservation) not to be missed at 4pm, 5pm and 6pm.

The "Wetland Project" exhibition will also be open to the public on May 13, 2023, during the new European Museum Night. On this occasion, the public will have the choice between free visits (from 6pm to 11pm) or guided tours with Catherine Bédard, curator of the exhibition (at 6:30pm, 8:30pm and 9:30pm).