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Press Release: The Dark Heals 12th July 2022

Event

The Dark Heals – an immersive sound experience premieres at Cambridge Biomedical Campus on 12 July 2022, concluding a 1-year artist-in-residence by Cambridge based composer Andrea Cockerton.

 

On the early evening of 12 July, campus employees and the public are invited to come and experience The Dark Heals – an immersive soundscape reflecting people’s experience of the last 2 years during the pandemic.  This premiere takes place on the campus’ The Green & The Gardens public space, underneath the stunning flags of the ‘In Memoriam’ art installation.

 

Picture blankets & deck chairs full of people sitting or lying in the early evening into dusk. Each attendee will be provided with silent disco wireless headphones and sleep masks to listen to a ‘spherical sound’ installation created by artist in residence on the campus – Andrea Cockerton – entirely in the dark.

 

Called ‘The Dark Heals’, the piece is a c.20-minute sound installation created to reflect what it’s been like for people living at, working on or being treated at the campus during COVID-19. During the past six months, staff, patients & the general public have been contributing writing, pictures, sounds & videos to give voice to their experience during the pandemic; as well as inspiring the final piece, all submissions will be visible in a digital wall, going live on the same day at thedarkheals.com

 

The installation has been composed to be listened to in the dark, “because you listen differently when you cannot see, and when you cannot be seen” according to the composer. It draws on the experience Andrea gained pre-covid of creating c.40 sold out shows performed entirely in the dark with her Cambridge-based sound collective We Are Sound, which received extraordinary feedback about the effectiveness of dark listening.

 

Booking for 12th July live event

The free evening event contains 3 ‘showings’ of the installation – 6.30pm, 7.30pm & 8.30pm, and a chance to speak with the composer. To attend this free event head to thedarkheals.com to book your ticket. Spaces are limited, so please book in advance to ensure that enough seating & headphones can be made available.

 

Online access from 13th July

From the 13th July, the same piece will be available to stream online at thedarkheals.com, to listen to at home.

 

For more information see thedarkheals.com

 

Cambridge Biomedical Campus Public Art Programme Phase 1
The Dark Heals by Andrea Cockerton is part of the Cambridge Biomedical Artist-in-Residence programme, curated and managed by international cultural placemaking agency Futurecity. The programme is led and funded by property developer Prologis under the s106 agreement with Cambridge City Council to deliver public art across the campus’ Phase 1 expansion land. Cockerton was selected by the CBC Public Art Steering Group, made up of campus stakeholders and external advisors. The Dark Heals marks the completion of a 10-year commitment to public art across the Phase 1 Expansion Land at Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and the start of Phase 2 located to the south of Dame Mary Archer Way. Prologis has committed to a £1.65 million package of public art and public realm – making it one of the largest investments of its kind to date, in the Cambridge region.

Notes to Editors


Andrea Cockerton

Andrea Cockerton is a composer whose musical career started at the tender age of 7 when she played the Entertainer at an Old Time Music Hall concert in a village hall. In 1989 she was named West Suffolk Young Musician of the Year and in the late 80’s won a music scholarship to Uppingham School, followed by a choral scholarship to study music at Trinity College, Cambridge.  During her time at Trinity she sang, toured and recorded as part of the highly regarded Trinity Choir, under conductor Richard Marlow.  However, neither life as a pianist or pursuing becoming a singer felt ‘right’, so she moved towards her other passion of business and entrepreneurship… admittedly a slightly unexpected route for a musician.

For 15 years Cockerton worked in both London and Cambridge in the world of tech start-ups and finance, building expertise in pitching (a different form of sound communication) and keeping music as an unresolved hobby. In 2010, music won out. Cockerton created the ground-breaking sound experience company, We Are Sound, calling on all her musical and entrepreneurial skills. Three years later she founded the not-for-profit Dosoco music foundation to run alongside We Are Sound – Dosoco has gone on to give out over £20,000 to projects using sound and music to change the world – and in 2018 Cockerton was listed as one of NESTA (what does this stand for?) and The Observer’s #50newradicals for this work.

 

For more information regarding the composer, please see andreacockerton.com

 

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