El Observatorio de la escucha [The Listening Observatory] was a project developed between Mikel R. Nieto, Xabier Erkizia and Luca Rullo in the context of the the 2016 installment of the European Capital of Culture Donostia – San Sebastián.
The Listening Observatory was devoted to the relationship between communication and citizenry. The project started on the contours of language, perception and the consensus that we produce to establish our social cohabitation, with the objective of addressing a series of questions about how we perceive the environment, the social, and the urban environment through the ear and the contemporary artistic creation. Among the various activities, Mikel R. Nieto and I organized several building-specific interventions:
- Luz Broto. Derogar las normas de uso relativas al silencio [Derogating the Terms of Use of Silence] 10/10/2016
- Ixiar Rozas. Al final todo sucede a la vez [In the End Everything Happens at the Same Time] 28/09/2016
- María Salgado. Catálogo pre-viva voz para cualquier situación posible [Pre-Viva Voce Catalog for Any Possible Scenario] 01/08/2016
- Jaume Ferrete. Voz Sorda II Chiste Raro [Mute Voice II Weird Joke] 20/07/2016
- ALKU. Rara Avis. 08/07/2016
- Francisco López. Ghost Forest. 10/06/2016
It was an intense and interesting experience. Mikel worked from Donostia and I did the same from Madrid, so that he took on a lot more work than I did, while our communications took place daily by phone. I remember the hug of sincere joy that we gave each other when María Salgado’s voice resounded for the first time in the Beach of la Concha the 1st of August of 2016. After that, we asked ourselves: “What else can we aspire to?”
