SenseScapes

A project by MA Curating Contemporary Design at Kingston University in partnership with the Design Museum, London. Curated by Maria Leonor Banha, Angie Chen, May Cheng, Adan Abu Dalu, Christen Faver, and Natasha Miller. SenseScapes is a group exhibition and public programme that treats perception as method, interrogating measures of accessibility, maps, architectural spaces, connections to nature, bridges among us and our lands. Sound is perceived as vibration, touch as reading, and hearing as navigation. Showcasing the work and research of Scar Barclay, Charlie Boyden, Adan Abu Dalu, Bibi Afshar-Shirazi, Hattie Ball, Rose Bell, Francesca Chilton, The DisOrdinary Architecture Project, Dr. Rim Irscheid, Dr. Anke Jakob, David Johnson, Matt Johnson, Ahmed Masoud, Dr. Aaron McPeake, Lei Pu, Karim Sultan, Anh Tran, and others, interactive pieces frame creative practice as sensorium and archive. Beyond vision and hearing, SenseScapes treats memory, care, and solidarity as perceptual capacities. Through field recording we generate knowledge; through listening we engage the politics of place; and through art and technology design we consider who and what becomes perceptible. PUBLIC PROGRAMME MONDAY 15 SEPTEMBER 13:00 - 14:00 | Workshop—Reuse as Ritual: Eco-Zine Making Practitioner: Ahn Tran Developed using a sense guide, this drop-in eco-zine workshop explores how creative processes can be embedded in food waste recycling practices. TUESDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 16:30 - 17:30 | Talk—Sensory Rooms Participants: Dr. Anke Jakob and Dr. Aaron McPeake Moderator: Christen Faver A discussion on design for wellbeing and creative practice ‘beyond the visual.’ 18:00 - 21:00 | Private View 19:00 - 20:00 | Performance—Listening Copies Performer: Bibi Afshar-Shirazi Artists Lei Pu & Bibi Afshar-Shirazi activate their piece ‘Listening Copies’ with a live harp score. WEDNESDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 18:30–19:15 | Talk—Artists as Witnesses of Transformation Speaker: Karim Sultan On artists in Iraq and Egypt embedding upheaval and independence into visual and sensorial language. 19:30–20:30 | Panel—Archives of Resistance and Memory Participants: Rim Irscheid, Rose Bell, Karim Sultan Moderator: Ahmed Masoud (invited) Exploring how archives of Palestine and beyond are fragmented, embodied, and reimagined. 20:45–21:30 | Performance—Improvised Counterpoints Performer: Karim Sultan An improvised sound performance interlacing oud fragrances, electronics, samples, and recordings. FRIDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 17:00 - 18:00 | Workshop—Reflections: Exhibition Design Through Diverse Embodiment Practitioner: Scar Barclay An introduction to the exhibition design of TRANSCESTRY: 10 Years of the Museum of Transology (2025) and The DisOrdinary Architecture Project, to critically reflect on compromises in design processes. 19:00 - 00:00 | DJ Night Lineup TBA SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER 18:00 - 19:00 | Listening Session—Listening to Landscapes Practitioner: Hattie Ball and Rose Bell Active listening session with sound recordings by Rose Bell and visuals by Hattie Ball.