Urban Theatre Projects (UTP) has unveiled plans for BLAK BOX , a major new architecture and sound pavilion exploring Barangaroo’s past, present and future and sharing First Peoples stories.  It will be  at Barangaroo Reserve from 2 to 24 June.

The state-of-the-art and surround-sound space has been purpose designed by globally renowned architect Kevin O’Brien. The harbourside pavilion will be filled with a powerful suite of newly commissioned sound works curated by Daniel Browning, presenter on ABC Radio National. The works bring together a moving range of contemporary Aboriginal voices to respond to the past, present and future of the Barangaroo site. 

BLAK BOX offers audiences a vantage point for a wider exploration of the First People’s relationship with their waters through that most compelling and fleeting artifact of human consciousness – sound.

The inaugural BLAK BOX program is titled humechochorus (hum echo chorus) and comprises commissioned oral histories of the harbour headland before 1788, informal interviews and spoken word performances. 

These will sit alongside over 15 separate commissioned sound pieces comprising original music and hydrophone field recordings taken from underwater at the site. 

Together the works offer a sound stream of consciousness blending stories of the past (echo), the present (hum) and an imagined future (chorus).

BLAK BOX is a cutting edge surround-sound listening space, built with recyclable and reusable materials, designed for audiences to experience contemporary First Peoples stories.  Ambitious in vision, BLAK BOX is stripped-back storytelling with minimal lighting and the sound of the human voice blending stories for groups of 30 visitors at a time.

BLAK BOX straddles sound, architecture, temporary public art and creative writing.

BLAK BOX embraces the First Peoples concept of ‘deep listening’ which is based on stories, silences and the spaces that lie between. The BLAK BOX experience invites audiences to join this shared process of deep listening. It is an innovative and unique model for the exploration of sound and language from a First Peoples perspective.

Urban Theatre Projects‘  BLAK BOX  will operate 2 June to 24 June 2018, at Barangaroo with individual sessions running 30 min each.  BLAK BOX is free but bookings are recommended, bookings available from May 1st.

CREATIVE TEAM: 
Curator: Daniel Browning 
Architect: Kevin O’Brien 
Lighting Designer: Karen Norris 
Lead Builder: David Hawkes 
  
BLAK BOX ARTISTS INCLUDE: 
JOEL DAVISON (Gadigal language worker)
SHANNON FOSTER (D’harawal saltwater knowledge keeper) CURTIS KENNEDY (Musician/composer)
Professor JOHN MAYNARD (Historian)
Professor JAKELIN TROY (Linguist) 
TEILA WATSON (Writer/Spoken Word Artist)