This theme aims to explore the role of oral communication in museum practice at large (whether within the music museum or any other kind of museum). We invite discussions about in-person and mediated (utilising devices like audio guides) guided visits and/or spoken lectures. In addition to exploring historical practices, we are interested in presentations that focus on contemporary, innovative display methods that unveil new cultural and social aspects of museum collections, aiming to engaging audiences. We also welcome discussions about online initiatives and programmes designed to extend on-site visits, such as podcasts and other innovative approaches. This theme also welcomes presentations discussing Audio Description techniques and initiatives to secure the accessibility of blind or visually impaired museumgoers.

This theme investigates listenable artefacts in a museum context from all periods of history, beginning with recent advancements in sound archaeology & archaeoacoustics — the study (and reconstruction) of ancient sounds and sonic practices — then moving through the initial attempts to record and playback sounds in the 19th century, the transition from analogue to digital sound recording in the 20th century, and new technological advances in multichannel, virtual, and augmented reality sound in the present day. This diverse, open, and cross-disciplinary approach to the concept of sounds as artefacts in museums will allow the conference to explore the practical and conceptual challenges inherent within displaying sonic material as museum objects across a wide range of museum techniques and types.

This theme invites contributions that explore diverse case studies, whether transporting patrons to a specific time and place through recordings of historical urban sound, conveying a theme through sonic expression, or evoking emotions by creating a particular sonic atmosphere. We also welcome discussions on exhibition strategies and case studies ranging from spatially distributing sound to enhance museumgoers’ auditory experience to more advanced multisensory techniques like VR/AR, 360-degree video and mixed reality to craft enveloping and holistic environments.

This thematic strand invites speakers to present discussions and case studies exploring the contours of sound art and its ontological definition, academic critique and aesthetical analysis, intimate encounters and the social, the contemporary and transcultural trends towards the post-apocalyptic, a wide sensorial spectrum of sonic imaginaries, the decolonization and deinstitutionalization around the making of sound, as well as the relationality of sound — spotlighting the relational capabilities of sound, that is, the set of possible interpersonal and affective reactions evoked by the materiality of sound.

This theme invites discussions addressing a wide range of online sonic practices that have emerged in the cultural sector: from participatory sound archives to digital-native museums dedicated to sound, from sound maps, online sound exhibitions and collaborative playlists to sound walks and audio tours that extend the museum outside its walls. Typically, these practices rely on a combination of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and sound-based platforms like YouTube, SoundCloud, Spotify and Clubhouse. We also welcome discussions on how these practices can be extended to onsite settings.

This theme welcomes contributions that explore ways to prompt visitors to imagine sound by engaging with visual stimuli in museum exhibitions. Submissions may cover three main topics:

• Musical instruments and iconography as vivid non-acoustic representations of music.
• Topics in phonomnesis, synaesthesia, and sonic fiction.
• Exploration of aural diversity within exhibitions encompassing conditions like hearing loss and atypical hearing (such as tinnitus, hyperacusis and misophonia), which can lead to different modes of internal listening and imaginative sound perception.

This theme encompasses, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Live music accompanying an exhibition.
• Live performances or audio interventions (concerts, happenings, etc), often programmed as extra exhibition.

This theme encompasses, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• The sonic bubble — a simultaneously collective yet deeply personal sonic space, distinct from the surrounding acoustic environment.
• Aural architecture (spatial reverberation; interference; reflections; shadowing; dispersion; absorption; diffraction).
• 3D spatialisation of sound.
• Binaural recording and listening.
• Sonic illumination, a concept grounded in a non-for-malistic understanding of space. This concept encompasses both the physical attributes of space — like materials — and the social activities that transform it. Sonic illumination is thus typically an artefact of some social interaction developing in a given space. While rooted in aural architecture, sonic illumination places equal emphasis on the hosted social activities.
• The concept of sonic illumination in crafting social scenographies within museum.
• Sonic approaches to guide exhibition visitors through an actual physical space — by means of listening guidance and shaping the sonic affordances of an exhibition space.

This theme encompasses, but is not limited to, the following topics:

• Exploring media concepts and terminology, aiming to uncover the epistemological ramifications of sound- based technologies in museum communication.
• Chronicling the evolution of the exhibition of sound within museum contexts. It discusses how museums began incorporating sound media for museographical purposes in the nineteenth century and traces this integration through to the present, where dedicated technologies are crafted for narrating via sound.
• The presentation and discussion of cutting-edge devices for sound display in museums, such as headphones, directional speakers, sonic beams, and hyper-sonic sound systems, offering enveloping experiences.
• The presentation and discussion of multisensorial technology like VR, AR — featuring tools like beacons, iPads, touch screens, and haptic interfaces, smartphones, QR codes — and MR practices enabling 360 degrees experiences. The transformative role of the Internet and AI.

Music museums and sound archives share a common goal: preserving and providing access to the cultural heritage of sound and music. However, they operate as distinct entities with complementary roles. The expertise required also differs, with museums often relying on conservators to care for material artefacts and curators for interpretation, while sound archives depend on audio engineers, archivists, and IT professionals to preserve and manage recorded sound. This strand welcomes discussions on these and related topics:

• Music museums: discussions on organology and on the maintenance, research and restoration, and display of musical instruments; discussions on all aspects underpinning the storage, research and restoration, and display of music iconography;
• Sound archives: theoretical and ideological frameworks; institutional politics; academic and non-academic archiving processes; the history of archiving; archive as an agent of social transformation; social memory and politics of patrimonialisation; tangible and intangible heritage; postcolonial and decolonial approaches; power relationships; aesthetic legacies; legal and access policies; archiving and gender perspectives; technologies of archiving; work routines in archiving; digital humanities; amongst others.