Queer Arts Festival presents Language as a Virus: Queer Isolation Stories around False Creek and online, to August 13
BY GAIL JOHNSON, STIR VANCOUVER
MUSIC, SOUND ART, individuals’ recordings, and power transmitters—Language as a Virus: Queer Isolation Stories is an event unlike any other at Queer Arts Festival 2021 Dispersed: it’s not easy being green.
The sonic-art installation by Bobbi Kozinuk happens in two forms. The first is a “walking radio” tour around False Creek. People need an FM radio or QR-enabled phone. The other is an online experience.
The event is described as an experiment in radical storytelling. The thematic focus, meanwhile, is on the effect of the pandemic on queer and diverse communities.
Community-submitted recordings mix with sound art and music to become soundscapes that are broadcast on low-power transmitters along the water’s edge. Participants will find advertisements for the project at transmitter hubs and participating community centres throughout Metro Vancouver. These posters have QR codes that, when scanned, allow people access to a selection of stories.
The public is invited walk along False Creek and listen in on their FM radio or QR-enabled phone and to visit the Isolation website to contribute their own stories and tune into location-specific channels.
For more information, see QAF.