Sat 22 Feb 2:30 p.m.

Free

We spend years learning to read, write and speak, yet little, if any, time is given to learning to listen – our most used method of communicating.

Join two listening ‘experts’ in a hands-on exploration of the conditions and practices of good listening, as well as the challenges that make it so difficult. In this workshop, researcher Dr Emily Beausoleil and artist Olivia Webb will share insights into the politics of listening and lead some listening meditations and raucous activities that get us exercising our voices and ears.

In Anthems of Belonging, Olivia worked with five different families, from Kiribati, Zambia, Samoa, the Philippines and the Netherlands, to write, perform and film songs that reflect their feeling about place and belonging. The workshop will finish with a rare opportunity to speak and sing in I-Kiribati as special guests, the Tiibin family, teach us their family song from Anthems of Belonging.

Dr Emily Beausoleil is a Lecturer of Politics at Victoria University, and has been awarded a Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant to look at how people listen, and how to make listening easier.

Olivia Webb is an artist whose work explores how we listen, with exhibitions creating opportunities for audiences to develop new listening skills through workshops and group activities.

This workshop runs in conjunction with Anthems of Belonging. On until 22 March 2020.