Open Call: Time to Listen

For the fourth time, inm / field notes and the Akademie der Künste invite you to the conference "Time to Listen – Sustainability in Contemporary Music", taking place on 30 and 31 October 2025. This year’s focus is on networks that not only foster the exchange of knowledge and resources but also strengthen a sense of community and collective responsibility.

We invite artists, curators, and researchers to propose sessions they would like to lead during the symposium on either 30 or 31 October. Each session will last 45 minutes. The format is open and may take the form of a lecture, project presentation, workshop, sound walk, listening session, or guided improvisation. We are looking for contributions that explore themes such as transnational networks, artistic exchange, and sustainable mobility in the context of contemporary music and sound art. Potential starting points for proposals could include the following questions:

How can networks be conceived as spaces for knowledge transfer, shared responsibility, solidarity, and collective action in light of ecological, political, and economic challenges? In what ways can ensembles, curators, and institutions contribute to sustainable presentation concepts that extend beyond world premieres? How can the internationalisation of one’s network be shaped as a holistic process that moves beyond export strategies to include economic, ecological, and mobility-related justice?

How do sustainability principles influence not only logistics and organizational aspects but also the creative process and artistic practice? What artistic approaches exist that foster new forms of transnational collaboration? How can the concept of the work itself be rethought (open, process-oriented, and collaborative) when projects are designed to be long-term and transnational? What transformations do works undergo when they are continually reinterpreted and developed over longer periods? How can artistic projects be created that address inequalities between urban and rural areas or between different geopolitical regions, and that open up new forms of participation?

If you are interested, please submit a short abstract (maximum two pages) outlining the content and format of your session, along with a brief bio and a list of any technical requirements (e.g., video, audio), by 25 May 2025 via email to info@field-notes.berlin. A fee of 500 euros (gross) will be paid for leading the session during the conference and for preparing a written version for the conference reader. Travel and accommodation expenses may also be covered; please indicate any such needs in your application.

The selection of proposals will be made by a jury consisting of Julia Gerlach (Akademie der Künste Berlin), Lisa Benjes (inm / field notes), Lydia Rilling (Donaueschinger Musiktage), Sophie Aumüller (Impuls neue Musik), Tania Rubio (Acoustic Ecology Lab) and Tuuli Lindeberg (Musica nova Helsinki). The results will be announced at the end of June.

The conference is being organised in close cooperation with the Donaueschingen Music Days and Impuls neue Musik, who hosted the European Network Meeting in 2024, as well as with Art Music Denmark as part of Northern Connection, a network of the Nordic countries and Scotland.

30 and 31 October 2025
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg

You can register free of charge to attend the conference here.