Sound Worlds: Understanding (Dis)Placement through Soundwalk and Sound Map

Date and Time: Sunday, Aug. 18, 1:00–2:30pm Pacific Time

Location: Sound Map is online and on Upper Terrace

Created and facilitated by:

Greg Weinstein, Inclusive Research Lead & Senior Accessibility Designer, CVS Health

Michael Powell, Partner, Practica Group

When we convene at EPIC in Los Angeles, we will come together in sonic environments that are novel, transient, mutable, and personal. The Soundwalk (now in it’s third year!) and Sound Map are opportunities to listen alone and together, to share experiences of our environments through sound, to understand how we inhabit and shape the soundscapes we occupy every day. The Soundwalk frames a communal and personal way to “tune in” to the conference setting, while the Sound Map will allow us all to hear the city’s diverse soundscapes as EPIC members encounter them. EPIC attendees can participate in one or both of these activities.

Greg Weinstein is a design researcher, accessibility designer, and acoustic anthropologist. He promotes creative and inclusive design solutions to complex problems by using research to understand the incredible diversity of people’s adaptive strategies and experiences. He holds a PhD in Ethnomusicology (the anthropology of music) and in a previous life spent time in recording studios learning about technology and sound ideologies.

Michael Powell has worked with clients and research teams in diverse sectors and industries, from mobility technology, health care, and consumer retail, to architecture, civic participation, and food justice. Previously he was a strategist at the multidisciplinary design firm Shook Kelley, as well as an independent consultant and start-up co-founder. He lived and worked in Los Angeles for over a decade before moving to Houston, and worked on projects in and around downtown Santa Monica.