A CENTURY OF

SOUNDS

One hundred recordings from all over the world, dating back as early as wax cylinder recordings from 1911, were curated to showcase the amazing breadth of the museum’s sound collections.

These recordings were presented to 100 artists – from sound artists and poets to composers and songwriters – to reimagine, developing brand new compositions.

Artists were invited to choose a recording that spoke to them, and create a composition based on their response to that sound, and to the resonances of history, culture, society and emotion that come from it. Creative approaches used to reimagine the sounds of these iconic spaces include the development of entire lyric songs from the source material, electronica pieces, poetry, ambient music, sound art, neoclassical, spoken word and many more.

Many of these recordings have never been publicly available to listen to before – and they are some of the most extraordinary sounds a Cities and Memory project has ever included.

The final collection presents a new way of listening to these recordings and the stories behind them, and suggests new ways of using sound to help us understand humanity, past and present.

The much-loved Pitt Rivers Museum is unlike any other. Founded in 1884, it houses within an atmospheric building more than 500,000 objects, photographs and manuscripts from all over the world, and from all periods of human existence. Within these are exceptional objects of ritual significance, and objects made for tourists or trade.

It is known for its characteristic layout with artefacts densely displayed in dark wooden cases and arranged by type into a ‘democracy of things’, rather than by time or region. This reveals fascinating distinctions and parallels across cultures, and encourages questions about the ways in which humanity tackles problems, and creates, understands and embraces life across the world. The collections are of extraordinary range and depth, comprising objects of historical, social and ritual significance, a mixture of great works of art, technology, invention and design from around the world.

There is a popular perception that the Pitt Rivers Museum is a ‘museum of a museum’ but in fact none of the original displays still exist. The Museum has always adapted and changed over time, by updating displays, adding to the collections and consciously working to keep it relevant. Today, we continue to undertake this transformational work to ensure that the collections remain meaningful to contemporary audiences, whilst maintaining the multi-layered and dense displays, which have inspired, enthralled and intrigued many generations of visitors.