About The Sonic Turn
The Attic launches The Sonic Turn, an interdisciplinary initiative that places sound at the centre of understanding contemporary cultural and socio-political phenomena.
The project focuses on a growing paradigm shift in international research and public discourse: understanding and using sound as a tool for knowledge and critical reflection. This reorientation positions sound as a critical mode of investigation, a material force, and a site of power. Through debates, presentations, discussions, concerts, articles, and a podcast series, The Sonic Turn opens a dialogue on the role that acoustic experiences play in shaping and deconstructing memory, identity, and the social body.
On November 14-15, 2025, The Attic presents The Sonic Turn international conference, taking place in the Small Hall of the National Theatre Bucharest. For two days, theorists, anthropologists, artists, and ethnomusicologists will explore the cultural, political, and ecological dimensions of sound and listening through presentations, performances, and discussions.
The Sonic Turn brings together ten Romanian and international guests, each with a unique practice in sound studies and related arts: Cătălina Tesăr (RO), Cosmin Nicolae (RO), Delia Grigore (RO), Holger Schulze (DK), Ian Nagoski (USA), Manja Ristić (RS), Maria Balabaș (RO), Salomé Voegelin (CH), Simina Oprescu (RO), and Stefan Fraunberger (AT). Additionally, the program features a panel discussion curated by Iscoada platform, addressing the topic of sonic surveillance in techno-feudalism: Who listens to whom, and for what purpose? Sound as an instrument of control.
From the aesthetics and politics of sonic warfare, to listening as a decolonial practice and a form of activism, from collective memory to cultural identity and heritage, the presentations will open new perspectives in sound thinking, while the performances invite the audience to listen and rethink socio-cultural phenomena from fresh angles. Critical discussions will investigate the role of sound as a way of decoding society, its political and ecological implications.
The Sonic Turn is a cultural project co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The project does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the project or the way its results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding beneficiary.
Institutional Partners: Pro Helvetia Arts Council, Austrian Cultural Forum, Goethe-Institut
Media Partners: CIMRO, Iscoada, Antropedia, Utopia Balcanică, IQAds, Cutra
Credits: (in alphabetical order)
Andrei Rusu - Wed Developer, Editor
Cristian Călin - Art & Visual Identity
Dragoș Rusu - Curator, Editor, Audio Producer
Irina Radu - Communication
Lavinia Ionescu - Contract Management
Maria Raicu - Production