“The Hall is Alive….” was a project supported by a Place Making grant from Central Coast Council. It took place at the School of Arts Hall as a local event, and under the title “Wavelength”, was part of the annual international One Month Festival.
“The Hall is Alive…/Wavelength” was hugely enjoyable and successful in helping the development of the Somersby School of Arts become a hub for local community culture. Our goal of bringing life back to the facility through improvised audience participation in music and dance was significantly progressed.
Participants of all ages, from many areas of the Central Coast as well as the local community, played with experimental acoustic instruments such as the lamellaphone and the harmonograph, which became “instruments” for social interaction, as did some bring-your-own DIY sonic inventions. Visitors also came from Sydney and as far away as Lithgow.
Michelle Urquhart performed with her viola and electric violin, and collaborated with Jieon Berecry-Brown with improvised dance vignettes, successfully inviting the audience to join in.
Wavelength – The One Month Festival is an annual worldwide performing arts event that runs for a month. In 2016 concerts were held in South Korea, China, Japan, India, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain, Russia, Australia, Peru and the United States, amongst others. The main concept of the festival is to break down the barrier between audience and artist through small-scale music concerts. One Month Festival is coordinated by The House Concert, which is a non-profit cultural organization in Seoul, South Korea.