Ways of being communal - using the example of Struer Tracks
Author
Pavlovskaia, Zlata
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2025
Abstract
Specialet undersøger, hvordan en formålsdesignet almanak kan fungere i konteksten af Struer Tracks 2025 både som en supplerende kuratorisk strategi og som en fælles praksis, der fordeler forfatterskab og holder samtalen om lydkunstens flygtige natur levende. Det centrale spørgsmål er, hvordan en hybrid publikation kan udvide biennalens fælles lytning frem for blot at fortolke den. Metodisk kombinerer studiet en kritisk litteraturgennemgang af epistemiske, soniske og kuratoriske debatter; et enkelt-informant casestudie via et kvalitativt interview med festivalens kurator, Jacob Eriksen; samt autoetnografi understøttet af analyse af primærmateriale (programmer, open calls, udkast, korrespondance). Alle materialer blev tematisk analyseret. Casen er Struer Tracks 5 (14–16 august 2025) med temaet Kommunal Praksis, der omkoder kommunale rutiner som materiale for samarbejdsorienteret kulturarbejde og forbliver forankret i den lokale forvaltning. Almanakkens redaktionelle ramme blev udviklet gennem en inkluderende open call (88 oplæg modtaget; 54 videreudviklet; formater fra essays til tekst plus audio-visuelt), hvilket positionerede udgivelsen som en lavtærskelplatform for mange typer bidragydere. Fundene peger på, at almanakken udvidede deltagelsen, reducerede elitisme ved at udjævne ekspertisehierarkier og bredte diskursen om Kommunal Praksis ud. Samtidig blev den refleksive dybde begrænset af tid og ressourcer; bidragyderbasen var geografisk skæv mod Europa og Nordamerika, og et fuldt langsomt, omsorgsintensivt kuratorisk tempo viste sig uopnåeligt. Overordnet viser projektet, at en almanak kan fungere som et immanent kuratorisk greb, der holder lydkunst i bevægelse gennem kollektiv refleksion, samtidig med at den synliggør de praktiske grænser og situerede etikker ved fælles udgivelse.
This thesis explores how a purpose-designed Almanac can operate within Struer Tracks 2025 both as a complementary curatorial strategy and as a communal practice that distributes authorship and sustains dialogue around the inherently elusive nature of sound art. It asks how a hybrid publication can extend the biennial act of communal listening rather than merely interpret it. Methodologically, the study combines a critical literature review of epistemic, sonic, and curatorial debates; a single-informant case study via a qualitative interview with the 2025 festival curator, Jacob Eriksen; and autoethnography supported by primary document analysis (programmes, open calls, drafts, correspondence). All materials were thematically analysed. The case focuses on Struer Tracks 5 (14–16 August 2025) and its theme Kommunal Praksis (Communal Practice), which retools municipal routines as material for collaborative cultural work while remaining embedded in the local administrative ecology. The Almanac’s editorial architecture was built through an inclusive open call (88 outlines received; 54 developed; formats spanning essays to text plus audio-visual), positioning the publication as a low-threshold platform for diverse contributors. Findings indicate that the Almanac broadened participation, reduced elitism by flattening expertise hierarchies, and diversified the discourse around Kommunal Praksis. At the same time, reflective depth was constrained by limited time and resources; the contributor base skewed toward Europe and North America, and a fully slow, care-intensive curatorial tempo proved unattainable. Overall, the project demonstrates that an Almanac can function as an immanent curatorial device that keeps sound art in motion through collective reflection, while making visible the practical limits and situated ethics of communal publishing.
[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]
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