Artist in residence announcement: Hayley Suviste
University of Salford Art Collection and Acoustics Laboratories,
in partnership with From The Other
January 2025
The University of Salford Art Collection is delighted to announce Hayley Suviste as new artist-in-residence at the University’s Acoustic Laboratories, in partnership with music festival organisation From The Other.
Hayley is a sound artist and composer based in Manchester. She works across field recording, archival sound and oral history, to explore community, culture, and the rural and urban narratives of Greater Manchester and the North. Previous commissions include Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Yorkshire Sound Women Network, and Mediale and Quays Culture; making new work performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
For this residency she will take inspiration from the local River Irwell – once known as the ‘hardest worked river in the world’. The river draws together narratives of industrial heritage, ecological resilience, and cultural significance, albeit in the face of ongoing challenges around urbanisation and pollution. Through audio, visual and musical experiments, Hayley will invite audiences to reflect on the river’s history and their own relationship to it in a new light.
“We are excited to welcome Hayley onto campus to develop this new work, which will draw together nature and technology to explore both the city’s heritage and future” – Stephanie Fletcher, Assistant Curator, Art Collection
Based at the Acoustic Laboratories from January to May 2025, Hayley will make use of the world-leading research facilities including the reverberation room (where sound waves echo extensively) and anechoic chamber (one of the quietest rooms in the world). As well as supporting undergraduate and postgraduate study and research, the facility and expert team regularly undertake commercial testing for some of the world’s best-known brands and organisations. This project will allow wider public audiences to experience the facility, when the new work premieres at From The Other’s much-loved festival of new music, Sounds from the Other City Festival, on May 4.
The festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary year in 2025, with more information on locations and the lineup to be announced in coming weeks.
“This opportunity to create a new piece for the University of Salford Art Collection and Sounds from the Other City feels like a wonderful full-circle moment. Ten years ago, I moved to Manchester and volunteered for SFTOC to connect with the city’s creative scene. Now, I’m returning as an artist, grateful for the chance to draw inspiration from the River Irwell and the Acoustic Laboratories at the University. I’m excited to explore the sounds, textures, and stories of these spaces and let them shape my creative process.” – Hayley Suviste, artist in residence
Hayley’s residency project follows a sold-out performance by previous artist-in-residence Mishka Henner, in collaboration with Energy House 2.0, at the festival’s 2024 edition. A further public presentation will take place in the Summer, and the new work will enter the University’s Art Collection as a legacy of the project.
“It was fantastic to work with artist Mishka Henner on the performance of The Conductor at the Acoustics Laboratories for SFTOC 2024, opening up our unique facilities to wider audiences in a new way. We look forward to working with Hayley and being part of SFTOC again this year” – Danny Wong-McSweeney, Laboratory Manager
Image: Anechoic chamber, courtesy Acoustics Laboratories