Time to Listen
Multispecies Creativity in Music and Sound
6/26/2026, 1 – 6 PM

Amidst the planetary crisis, communities are emerging worldwide that are dedicated to nurturing and collectively shaping relational ways of life in which reciprocity, care and respect take centre stage. In doing so, they draw on long-standing indigenous practices whilst experimenting with multi-species justice and forms of non-human governance.

The “Time to Listen” conference examines the role that sound can play in this transformation. Through lectures, discussions and performances, we explore ways of liberating listening and music-making from anthropocentrism and transitioning them into an ecologically and sonically interconnected world. At stake is nothing less than creativity itself: if relationship – and not the autonomous individual – becomes the site of creative action, what new forms of shared power, mutuality and collective creation then become possible? And from a methodological perspective: how can artistic practices, listening and paying attention, rituals, emotions, stories, humour and a “productive singularity” generate those irritations that allow for transformative openings?

The programme comprises presentations by artists from the “Spreeklänge” project, open dialogue formats, and sessions selected through an open call.

With Camilla Bork & Mathias Hinke, Carlos Gutiérrez & Tatiana López, Echo Ho, Masimba Hwati, Liza Lim, Dugal McKinnon, Kate Milligan, Kosmas Phan Ðinh & Michal Mitro, Radio Otherwise, Nardi Simpson, Kristine Tjøgersen, et al.

“Time to Listen” is a series of conferences that the Akademie der Künste and field notes / inm have been co-organising since 2019 to explore current discourses in contemporary music. This year’s edition forms part of the Academy of Arts’ “Spreeklänge” project, a contemporary music trail along the River Spree in Charlottenburg (25–27 June). It is being developed in collaboration with the composer and researcher Liza Lim, who leads the multi-year music-based research project “Multispecies Creativity and Climate Communication” (2025–2029) at the University of Sydney.