UNIT/PITT - Sound of the Sun, Volume III - Guest Curator

UNIT/PITT’s garden during the listening room. PC: Adrian Kato

In this post, I will discuss my experience as the guest curator for UNIT/PITT— Society for Art and Critical Awareness sound art project. During my tenure, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to curate their sound art project, Sound of the Sun, Vol. III, which will sadly be the final volume of the project.

I am writing this post to help me reflect on my work and share a bit of my process with y’all. A phrase that has resonated with me lately is “Reflection to a designer is like recovery to an athlete”. In design, just like in athletics, the majority of your gains come while you are resting not working.

About the project

Who is UNIT/PITT?

UNIT/PITT Society for Art and Critical Awareness is a charitable non-profit artist-run organization situated on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, in Vancouver, BC, Canada. For nearly 50 years, UNIT/PITT has supported art and critical awareness by offering the tools, space, resources, and mentorship for emerging artists and community members to engage in experimental creative work that advances a more expansive, inclusive reality for art and cultural production.

Find out more: unitpitt.ca

While working on the project I was able to learn more about U/P’s history of promoting arts in Vancouver. I found out they were established in the 1975 as the Helen Pitt Gallery, founded by students of the Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design). Helen Pitt Gallery merged with Unit 206 Society for the Democratization of the Arts in the early 1980s, and briefly adopted the name “Unit Pitt” for the first time. Over its 45+ year history, and across many name changes, UNIT/PITT has maintained a commitment to supporting emerging artists, artist-curators and writers through a synthesis of subcultural production, visual art, D.I.Y publishing, underground music, and arts advocacy.

It was also cool seeing when I was working on another exhibition, Transient Rhythms (2024), U/P’s name being mentioned in connection to the Vancouver School movement and artist such as Jeff Wall.

Their new permanent space is also just fabulous. It is a historic building with a patinaed character which adds historical texture to what ever gets programmed in their space. I will get into more details later on in this post but alongside the traditional gallery space in the front of the building, they have a beautiful garden at the back that I was very keen to utilize for the event I was responsible for designing.

What is Sound of the Sun (SOTS)

The Sound of the Sun is a project established in 2023 to explore sonic-celestial relationships. For each volume, the curators invited ten artists to respond to the solar movements through audio-based methods. The first volume in spring/summer 2023 responded to the lengthening of days, fall/winter 2023 responded to the shortening of days and spring/summer 2024 completed the cycle with a lengthening response.

My role

It was refreshing to have the opportunity to explore both the curatorial and designerly aspects of my practice on the same project. Through the Shumka Center’s Art Apprenticeship program at Emily Carr University of Arts + Design (ECUAD), I earned the spot as guest curator for Sound of the Sun, Volume III.

My two primary roles were the production of the cassette and the programming of an event in their space. In this article, I will try to speak about the former as a curation and the latter as design but in reality the processes became inextricably intermingled the more I worked on the project— a symbiotic relationship with an idea in one framework informing the action of the other.

Curation

Responding to the prompt myself

One of the first tasks I did in my role as curator was to put myself in the role of the artist and try to answer the prompt of the project myself. I cherish this aspect of having an artistic practice myself as when I step into the role of curator, I believe it gives me an extra layer of empathy.

Another reason why I wanted to respond to the prompt myself is as a way to spot my biases. I wanted to see what I instinctively thought about the project so that when I was going through the submissions I didn’t only pick people who would make the same things I would.

Why a cassette

Another initial consideration I took into account at the start of the project was why make a cassette in the first place.

A lot of my current research and practice surrounds the idea of how music is presented. So, although I appreciated the aesthetic aspect of creating a tangible artefact for the project, without a functional reason for making it, I felt the cassette may be seen too much as a novelty.

When I consider audio formats through history, despite the current zeitgeist’s nostalgia for older forms such as vinyl, in its era there was a practical reason for its popularity.

Therefore, one of the first decisions I made for this project was that if we are going to do a cassette then we have to at least listen to it. That way even if people purchase the cassette and they don’t have the means to listen to it on their own, at least they heard it once. I don’t know if that is me just being really particular but through this desire came the idea to do the event in two parts a listening room to start and live performances to end.

Testing... Big shout out to Craig for lending his tape equipment!

Going through submissions

Going through the submissions, I wanted to give every artist who applied fair access to my energy and consideration. Therefore, I took my time going through the submissions reviewing them over multiple days and giving each submission at least two passes.

Being able to sit on the other side of the table and assume the curatorial role allowed me to see a diverse range of ways people make applications. Here are two pieces of advice for artists of what I found to make a successful application:

1. Answering the prompt. This may seem like the most obvious but often the easiest to overlook. When you are applying for something, the entity you are applying to often has something they are specifically looking for people to respond to. That could be a theme, location or body of work. Therefore, really make sure to answer that thing and try to make that connection of how your work relates to what you are applying too. Think of it as an exercise in reconceptualizing.

2. Staying organized. When you are applying to things that require you to provide multiple attachments or sets of information try your best to consolidate and organize your work in a way that makes it easy for the person jurying to find and track your application. At the very least, making it easier will only help your chances.

Visiting the artists

One artist had their studio at James Black Gallery.

This was my favourite part of the job! It is so moving and insightful to be able to meet people and connect with them through the messages and feelings they are conveying to the world. It was also helpful learning about their personal histories and artmaking methods as a way for me to better understand the perspective they are brining to the project.

I met one artist at Yama Cafe in East Village!

Again, taking the perspective of the artist, if I were to submit something a month prior to getting accepted, there would be a good chance that my idea has shifted. That’s why when I met with all the artists, I wanted to convey and assure them that they were invited for both their proposal and their artistry. Therefore, I was okay with some movement away from their initial idea.

Working with the artists

One thing I also wanted to establish in my artist visits was our working relationship. Keeping open to the idea that everyone has a different way they like to work, I allowed the artists to choose how much they wanted to use me as a resource. For some it was assistance with sourcing equipment, others wanted feedback on sketches and then a few just needed the space to create and for me to be able to receive.

Visual Identity

Early draft of the J-card for the cassette.

The visual identity was an important key to the success of this project and I am grateful to have worked on it with Muni Gholamipour. Being the curator on this project I also needed to curate my involvement within the project. I think I showed good self-awareness of knowing what I was good at and wanted to take on and what I could bring others in on and uplift the people around me.

I was considering taking on the design of the graphics myself but after meeting Muni at a drop-in soccer match we both frequent, I saw his work and I instantly knew I needed to give him the job.

I also wanted to play around with the idea that just as the project invited artists to respond to the prompt of the sun, I also wanted to give Muni the same liberty. Although in design work there tends to be more revisions before the final outcome, I still wanted Muni to take lead in the initial inspiration.

Collection systems

One aspect of the project that I thought I could have done better on was the way I collected the final submissions for the cassette. I told the artists to send me their final works through email but in hindsight, it would have been better to use a system like Google Forms instead. Collecting the audio, the bios, and the track description all through email for all the artists quickly became a combinatorial explosion. I think email is good for direct communication and one-time deliverables but for projects that operate on a longer timespan, there needs to be a more centralized and separate approach for collecting the final artworks.

Radio tour

In the days leading up and after the cassette release day I went on a radio tour around three of the major college and community radio stations in Metro Vancouver. I went to CJSF at Simon Fraser University, CiTR at the University of British Columbia and Radio Emily at Emily Carr University of Arts + Design. Each show the host and I played the tracks from the cassette tape and I was able to delve into about some of the inner workings of the project and what I was considering throughout the process. Doing something like this is helpful in spreading awareness about the project as well as archiving it in history.

Design

The cassette

The latter half of the project was when more of my design skillsets came into play. As Muni was designing the J-card for the cassette I designed the hard shell casing. We used a company called duplicaton.com based in Montreal to produce the cassettes. Choosing from the options they had and taking inspiration from the previous editions, this is what the final looked like. I wanted the colors to coordinate with what Muni was making. I also chose a frosted outside case to reveal the bright yellow inside unit. I wanted to tell the story of the change in season’s through the design of the cassette.

The brochure

Thanks Emilia for helping me fold!

This was also really fun! I like to create something physical for my gatherings so people can take away something with them after the experience. The physical anchors an experience and helps people remember and connect with the work you did long after its gone. That is why it was also important for me to make something that people would want to keep.

After brainstorming with the Director, Ali Bosley, on how different ways we could make a program, I landed on using the traditional 8-fold zine. To add some novelty to the final product I decided to print them on a Risograph printer. I have access to a Risograph print at Emily Carr through my studies and it was refreshing to be able to just focus on the printing aspect of the design.

I ended up going with a 3 color riso print: sunflower, black and flat gold on 11 x 17 sized paper. I printed the first time through with flat gold and black and then the sunflower the next day. It was also my first time using the flatbed scanner on the risograph instead of printing it digitally and I really appreciated how that method humanized the printing experience. I used a beige 60# text paper. I wanted something heavier than copy paper to give it a more premium feel and I wanted stayed away from anything too thick like cardstock because it can be tedious to fold.

Spatial-experiential design

In the previous two iterations of the SOTS there was always a programmatic aspect to project in the form of live performances from some of the artists on the cassette. But like I said before if we are going to make a cassette we should definitely listen to it and if we are going to listen to it then why not collectively and as an integral part of the programming for the project.

A concept I have been interested in is relational aesthetics and the art of the event and gathering. Therefore, when I was thinking about how I wanted this event to respond to the prompt of the sun, I came up with the idea of doing a really long for the longest day of the year. I wanted to communicate the intentions and themes of the project through the duration of the event.

Listening room

PC: Adrian Kato

We did the listening room portion of the program in the garden at U/P. This was the first summer in their newly acquired space and it was an honor to share in that moment with everyone. I also liked the opportunity the garden provided to create multiple permeable zones within the space. It was cool seeing how people interacted with the space we created without any cues.

My macro intention behind the design of the space was to create different opportunities for people to engage with the space and the experience at the level they are comfortable with. It is the same idea in adding layers and textures to a painting. For the people that wanted totally lock in and keep direct focus on the sounds you could sit in the center area. But the deeper you went into the garden I noticed people were more open to small chats and reactions to what they were hearing. If you moved back inside to the gallery you would find others not as much engaged with the listening of the cassette but listening to each other, which to me is equally a valid way to appreciate a listening room.

What makes listening rooms so powerful and sound and music so influential is that it can reach you without you needing to look. As soon as you step into the room there is the opportunity for that space and experience to move you no different than seeing a great work of art on a wall or sitting on a really comfortable couch.

Garden setup

I worked on the garden setup with Ali Bosely and my partner Emilia Abundis. As Ali took care of tending to the garden, Emilia and I were devising on organic ways to add seating. After iterating on a few ideas, we liked the idea of using found material for the seats as well as choosing material that makes sense in the context of a garden. For a couple of the seats, we used cement blocks and planks of wood found around the garden. For the other one Emilia spotted a closet door that was going to be given away. One thing that we also recognized was important with the seating was to keep height low. We felt that by being lower to the ground, people who sat on them would feel more connected the garden, sounds and nature around them.

Bleach catering

Danny (C) and Michelle (R) of Bleach Studios

Bringing Bleach Studios to help cater this event was another opportunity to add a layer of texture to the event as well as cross-pollinate and make connections that might not have been made otherwise. Bleach has its space located in East Vancouver in Chinatown while UNIT/PITT’s space is on the Westside of Vancouver in Kitsilano.

For practical reasons, having food gives people the needed energy and break to stay through your event. The listening room was the first part of this event and afterwards we took about an hour for people to eat and mingle before jumping into the live performances. I think it is important when doing listening rooms that have an intensive listening period to also give structured breaks were people can socialize and meet others who also came to event. When I think of the power music and sounds has to form and shape community, food is right there next to it.

Live performances

The performances were the last act of the program and they were staged inside the gallery. Doing it inside the gallery was helpful because we could set up the performers simultaneous to the listening room. We also set up the chairs so that people cold directly face the performers compared to the looser seating arrangement for the listening room.

One moment I am glad came through with the selection of the artists was the placement of the first two performers, Edith Skeard and Anju Singh. Edith’s track was lighter and took a more questioning approach while Anju’s track was harsher and on the violent side. I wanted these two performers to play one after the other to highlight the drastic qualities and experiences the sun provides to each person.

One thing I wish could have gone better for the live performances was a higher attendance for the last two performers. In hindsight, I would have chosen three over four performances. I think part of what made people leave was the slow transitions between performers which was partly because we didn’t have enough space or the facilities to have everyone set up at the same time. However, at the same time, because I am also seeing the event from a relational aesthetics perspective it somewhat makes sense the end of the day should have the least amount of light and people in attendance.

Once again, I am incredibly grateful to have gotten this opportunity to work with UNIT/PITT, the artist on the project and everyone who gave a hand in making it happen. Special thanks goes to my partner Emilia Abundis for always being supportive, Ali Bosley and Catherine de Montreuil for trusting me, Muni for his killer design work, the artists for being, Jeff Morton for mastering, Teddy for witnessing, Tessa for serving, Craig for the tape equipment and Bleach Studios for feeding the family.