Chloe Cutler Recipient of DMU Creative Thinking Award

Chloe Cutler, an MA by Research student in the MTIRC, has just been awarded DMU prestigious Creative Thinking Award for her project The Tono: Enhanced Learning with an Innovative Instrument in Key Stage 2 and 3 Music Education. As part of her MA, Cutler designed and constructed a custom electronic handheld instrument to take into the classroom to teach students about making sound-based (as distinct from note-based) music. The classroom placements have been highly successful, with very positive feedback from students and teachers alike. Particularly notable was the fact that some students who have not responded strongly to traditional music instruction in the past seemed to respond enthusiastically to instruction with the Tono. Cutler has been granted £3000 to develop her project further.

Sponsored by Toby Moores, CEO of sleepydog.net, The Creative Thinking Awards were established to recognise exceptional levels of creative, novel, original, and inventive thinking.This year the £10,000 prize was shared between three winners who came up with ideas which connected two or more disciplines to come up with creative and unique ideas.

Neal Spowage - Speaker Bra and Wireless Shovel Controller at Falmouth

Doctoral Student Neal Spowage will premier his brand new work Cold Papaya on 28th August at the Fascinate Conference, in the The Performance Centre at Falmouth University. He will also give a paper and a demonstration for his new sculptural wearable instrument The Speaker Bra and Wireless Shovel Controller for which Cold Papaya is a vehicle.

Cold Papaya is a part of Neal's PhD portfolio and ongoing collaboration with choreographer Danai Pappa.

"Cold Papaya (Neal Spowage and Danai Pappa) explores dual relationships and erotic humour in live electronic music. The instrument used in this performance is in two parts, one is a bra and one is a shovel. By dividing kinesthetic source bonding into two distinct focal points, we explore love in a story of horror and dark humour that describes a balance of power, loss, sex and confusion between performers. This wearable instrument, and the performance piece are a mirror for both the artist, and the audience. How important is touch, sound, an object and the sexual power of the human body?"

Luca Forcucci: UCLA Future Lab and more…

Doctoral student Luca Forcucci will present his work in October as part of the UCLA Future Lab and discuss issues on Sonic Arts and Architecture. Also in October, he will present a concert at the 15th International Festival for New Media Culture  Art+Communication 2013 / Riga / Latvia.

He has also recently presented work at the Ionian University in Corfu, Greece, the Swatch Art Peace Hotel during the Biennale of Venice, the “Hörraum:Atmosphären” within “Kultur:Stadt exhibition” at the Akademie der Künste / Berlin / Germany and UNESP / University of Sao Paulo / Brazil.