Maria Papadomanolaki - Sound & Transmission Art
Maria Papadomanolaki is a sound and transmission artist based in Chania, Crete, Greece. Papadomanolaki has studied linguistics and literature at the Aristoteleion University of Thessaloniki before moving on to sound art and sound studies, having completed a PhD on the topic ‘Sonic Perceptual Ecologies’ at CRISAP, LCC, UAL. Her work and research focus on the role of sound and walking in the way we perceive, create memories, make place and identity within our environments. Maria has conducted site specific and creative research in a variety of contexts and locations ranging from busy urban junctions and nature reserves to remote ancient sites and mountain trails. Special importance is placed on the synergy of sound and transmission art with creative curatorial and ecological practices.
Her work aims to inspire and unlock our inherent abilities to experience through sound. This is often achieved through working in site specific, community and heritage contexts. Her curatorial work for Soundcamp/Reveil and Festival of Sound and her series of site specific soundwalking performances entitled A certain geography have been characterised by audience members as ‘original’, ‘extraordinary’ and ‘transformative’. Similarly, through her critically acclaimed sound design for dance and her music performances and releases, Maria is using sound as a means to prompt connections and interactions, to pose questions and to explore different aesthetic and technological forms of expresion and co-production.
Since 2010, Maria has been leading workshops for public events and she has been teaching on various academic and educational institutions in the US, UK and Greece. As a Senior Lecturer and Course Leader at the University Of Brighton's Digital Music and Sound Arts course (2017-2020), she succesfully designed innovative curriculum activities as well as public-facing and community outreach projects that had a strong impact on the course's overall performance (including a leap from the 65th to the 25th place for the subject area of "Music" fon the Guardian's 2020-21 UK University league table).
She has researched and co-edited the books ‘sounds remote’ (Soundcamp/Uniformbooks 2016), ‘Transmission Arts: Artists & Airwaves” (PAJ Publications, 2011) and has contributed a chapter to the book ‘Radio Content in the Digital Age’ (Intellect Books, 2011). Her research and writing have also been published on Organised Sound (Cambridge University Press), Nefeli Editions, Galaad Edizioni, Leonardo Journal, Performance Research as well as on print and online music resources including acloserlisten (US), Velvet Magazine (GR), ATHENSVOICE (GR), fluid-radio(UK), Sonic Field (CO), and Artcards Review NY (US).
Papadomanolaki has collaborated with various institutions across Europe, UK, the US and Asia to create new work and research including Wave Farm, the Ontological-Hysteric Theater, Cabinet Magazine, Issue Project Room, The British Library, Royal College of Arts, the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall, Athens Biennale, Greek National Opera and Onassis Stegi.
Papadomanolaki has received funding for her work and research from The Schilizzi Foundation, The Alexander Onassis Foundation, University of The Arts London, Arts Council England, Sound and Music, H&L Fund England and Creative Europe. She has received an award by the Nagogya University of the Arts for her interactive voice-based installation entitled ‘Stoma’.
Maria is a Higher Education Academy Fellow and is the co-founder of the non-profit organisation 'SoundCamp' as well as a member of the highly acclaimed 'Shortwave Collective'.