The Van Vorst Park Soundwalk is an interactive sound art piece by Damian Catera which simultaneously uses the park as a musical score and instrument. The public is invited to experience the piece through portable headset radios as they walk through a loosely defined route within the park. The piece operates with three limited-range low power FM transmitters which are situated along the route. Each transmitter plays a component of the sound composition which is broadcast on a single frequency. As listeners move through the park, with their radios tuned to the project frequency, the piece shifts and transitions between the separate components. In this enhanced environment, the listener becomes an active and crucial participant in the realization of the piece.

The Van Vorst Park Soundwalk is co-sponsored by the Jersey City Museum and supported, in part, by a NJ Arts Council Fellowship. Transmission architecture in collaboration with free103point9. See Microradio Sound Walk for more information.

This work functions as an acoustic remapping of the park and its temporal, spatial, architectural, natural and historic elements. Each of the three components consists of sounds falling into a discrete category. The first component consists of a real-time soundscape composed with sounds gathered from microphones hidden throughout the park. The second component is a group of music pieces based on “scores” that are derived from the park’s natural and architectural elements. The third component is based on historic and contemporary texts relating to the park. The soundwalk is a multidisciplinary performance/ installation project which addresses issues within experimental music, contemporary arts and beyond; including the musicality of everyday sounds, the blurring of public/ private boundaries through surveillance, synesthesia, plus the engagement, formulation and negotiation of public space.