THE LISTENING BIENNIAL – Acoustic Justice, Acoustic Care
July 9 – 12, 2026 / Berlin

Acrossdiverse contexts and situations, the experience of being heard emerges as foundational. From personal, localized situations to broader social and national contexts, being heard supports feeling recognized, fostering mental and emotional health as well as essential forms of collective empowerment. While being heard is grounded in dialogue and the ability to speak to each other, it is clearly metaphoric as well, leading to a broader range of experiences and practices. As Gideon Calder argues, it’s important that we listen out for those voices that exceed a given acoustic arena, or that speak and narrate otherwise. There is an urgency to being heard, one that calls for greater attention as well as critical, creative ways of sounding and listening.

Extending from these concerns, we’re glad to announce a program of talks, workshops, performances and listening assemblies investigating the concept of acoustic justice, acoustic care. Acoustic justice, acoustic care is posed as a framework for addressing the structures that impact onto ways of being heard, and how it is we may listen out for the unrecognized or silenced. What types of strategies or tactics does such listening suggest? How to contend with particular acoustic norms that greatly influence the work of being heard as well as our embodied sense of feeling connected? Is not listening out for others requiring nuanced forms of sensing and acoustic imagination? And what of situations where listening is strained by what it hears – by what is unlistenable? Bringing together contributing artists, researchers, curators and organizers, the program aims to elaborate understandings of acoustic justice, acoustic care and how it may contribute to creative, critical listening cultures.

With participating artists and researchers Manuela García Aldana AKA Amuleto Manuela, Max Bloching, Katarina Blomqvist, Marialuisa Carpuso, Dora Đurkesac, Carlotta Sofia Grassi, Hanna Grześkiewicz / Yasemin Keskintepe, James Hazel, Patricia Hegglin, Anja Kreysing, Brandon LaBelle, Paula Montecinos, Inês Nin, ( ether o ) Chia-Liang Lai, ~pes (Elizabeth Gallón Droste / Pablo Torres Gómez), Nunzia Picciallo, Morten Poulsen, Carole Rieussec–Kristoff K.Roll, Maria Ristani, Inneke Taal, Sofia T. Theodosiadou, Marie Tirard, Katía Truijen, Yuri Tuma, Lorena Moreno Vera, Hui Ye

Locations:

The Listening Biennial Studio, Lettestr. 7, 10437 Berlin

Errant Sound, Gerichtstr. 45, 13347 Berlin

For further details see: https://listeningbiennial.net/articles/acoustic-justice-acoustic-care-festival

Program

Thursday, July 9, 19:00 – 22:00

The Listening Biennial Studio, Lettestr. 7, 10437 Berlin

Join us for the opening of the Cosmopoetic Studio / launch of Acoustic Justice, Acoustic Care program

With creative offerings and special book presentation (20:00) of Hosting Space by Maike Statz.

The Studio is open throughout the duration of the festival, July 10 – 12, 14:00 – 18:00 each day: we invite you to drop in for restful sessions of gong meditation, to share stories and offerings, or to hang out over a fresh cup of tea or lemonade, listening and viewing related creative works by participating artists.

Friday, July 10, 14:30 – 16:30 (workshop)

The Listening Biennial Studio, Lettestr. 7, 10437 Berlin

Cosmopoetic Workshop, with Brandon LaBelle, Patricia Hegglin, ( ether o ) Chia-Liang Lai

Please join us as we explore Cosmopoetics as a conceptual proposition and creative framework, and how this lends to a diverse range of practices aimed at poetic knowledge and cosmic connection. (Ideas of Cosmopoetics are being developed as a curatorial framing for The Listening Biennial 2027 and will be elaborated through a series of ongoing activities with invited guests starting in September.)

Friday, July 10, 19:30 – 23:00 (performances, talks)

Errant Sound, Gerichtstr. 45, 13347 Berlin

Manuela García Aldana AKA Amuleto Manuela, Circular Listening 

Yuri Tuma, Interspecies Communication and Technologies of Misunderstanding

~pes (Elizabeth Gallón Droste / Pablo Torres Gómez), I build my language with rocks 

( ether o ) Chia-Liang Lai, Sound of melting glacier

Saturday, July 11, 13:00 – 17:00 (workshops)

*workshops are open to the public. please send us a mail to register: contact@listeningbiennial.net

The Listening Biennial Studio, Lettestr. 7, 10437 Berlin

(13:00) Dora Đurkesac, Shiver Practice 

(14:30) Carlotta Sofia Grassi, Politics of Entrustment: Listening Through Difference

(16:00) Paula Montecinos Oliva, Sonic Feminist Fabulations: Live Radio Broadcast with sound pieces from Acoustic Justice – Acoustic Care group and discussion on radio practices

17:30 – 18:30: Listening Assembly (moderated Brandon LaBelle & Katía Truijen): On questions of listening, with Opening Gesture: A short sensory opening with local tree resin with Patricia Hegglin

Saturday, July 11, 20:00 – 23:00 (performances, screening)

Errant Sound, Gerichtstr. 45, 13347 Berlin

Marie Yevkiné Tirard, Poems and Lullabies of the Post-Nostalgic

Hui Ye,  Songs of Oblivion: Prelude

Nunzia Picciallo, tuning presence

Anja Kreysing, Segment 19 – FLUME

Sunday, July 12, 13:00 – 17:00 (workshops)

*workshops are open to the public. please send us a mail to register: contact@listeningbiennial.net

The Listening Biennial Studio, Lettestr. 7, 10437 Berlin

(13:00) Marialuisa Capurso, Opening, touching spaces

(14:30) Inneke Taal, Breathing Choir – a voiceless articulation

(16:00) Nunzia Picciallo, Somatic practice, listening in movement

17:30 – 18:30: Listening Assembly (moderated Brandon LaBelle & Katía Truijen): On questions of listening, with Opening Gesture: A short sensory opening with local tree resin with Patricia Hegglin

Sunday, July 12, 19:30 – 23:00 (performances, screening)

Errant Sound, Gerichtstr. 45, 13347 Berlin

Hanna Grześkiewicz / Yasemin Keskintepe, On Burning Silence

James Hazel, listening through precarity

Max Bloching, Ground Practice

Marialuisa Capurso, Some traces of Rubedo

The Acoustic Justice, Acoustic Care program is presented in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut.