We investigate listening as a live act in the context of oral history-informed performance for social change, verbatim theatre, documentary dance, music, performance, sound art, activist performance, and public history.
Primary objectives
At The ALLab we investigate listening as a live act for social change, in the context of oral history-informed performance, verbatim theatre, documentary dance, music, performance, sound art, activist performance, and public history. Our mandate is to engage audiences as listener-participants of personal narratives that raise issues of shared concern. We accomplish this by using a range of strategies and sound technologies; we gather data on such listening experiences and analyse them through the lens of research-creation and critical frameworks.
Organizational structure
The Acts of Listening Lab (ALLab) was founded in partnership with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) in 2018 thanks to a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) Grant. It forms an integral part of COHDS’ research and creation activities and facilitates a core objective: to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration through oral history, the arts, and digital media. The Lab is guided by an interdisciplinary Advisory Board that meets semi-annually to discuss its strategic vision. The ALLab Advisory Board represents the diversity of the listening research field, including artists, academics, organizations, workshop leaders, facilitators and activists.
