Sonic Art Research Unit (SARU)
Group Leaders: Professor Paul Whitty
Contact: pwhitty@brookes.ac.uk
Sonic Art Research Unit (SARU)
SARU is a collective of practitioners jointly managed by Prof. Paul Whitty and Dr. Patrick Farmer. Other practitioners include Prof. Ray Lee, Harriet Butler, Dr. Matt Parker and Dr. Stephen Cornford. It is a curatorial platform focusing on the production and research of sound and auditory knowledge, providing a forum for dialogue in between a variety of different fields.
SARU supports the record label Consumer Waste, and often works in partnership with Compost and Height and Oxford Contemporary Music.
Research impact
SARU is involved in a variety of research projects, such as Ray Lee’s kinetic sound sculptures, Max Eastley’s Aeolian experiments, and Sound Diaries, a project recording everyday life in sound. It also:
- runs audiograft, an annual festival of experimental music and sound art
- curates regular practitioner talks and lectures, such as the Sound I’m Particular series
- releases a variety of media, from publications about the sounds of football not happening, to a pillow book about the river Lea
- from 2020, has hosted an online bi-weekly research seminar, a chance for people involved in SARU to share and discuss work in an informal setting.
Membership
Staff
| Name | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Dr Stephen Cornford | Senior Lecturer in Fine Art | scornford@brookes.ac.uk |
| Dr Paul Dibley | Programme Lead for Music | paul.dibley@brookes.ac.uk |
| Dr Patrick Farmer | Lecturer in Sonic Arts | pfarmer@brookes.ac.uk |
| Professor Ray Lee | Professor of Sound Arts | ray.lee@brookes.ac.uk |
| Dr Matt Parker | Research Fellow | Research Fellow |
| Professor Paul Whitty | Head of School of Arts | pwhitty@brookes.ac.uk |
The SARU collection on RADAR
SARU has produced a rich collection of images and recordings, which can be accessed via Oxford Brookes’ open access repository, RADAR.