The Island Soundscape Project, capturing Maine’s sonic environments

The Island Soundscape Project (ISP) is an arts research collaborative whose work sits at the intersection of art, ecology and education. In their research, the ISP captures soundscapes — the sonic environment — of Maine’s coast in order to understand and preserve the identity of Maine’s coastal communities.

The ISP is composed of co-founders N.B. Aldrich, UMaine adjunct associate professor of art and Steve Norton, a sound artist with an Masters of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Maine, as well as Karen Beeftink, UMaine at Machias associate professor of recreation and tourism management, and Adriana Cavalcanti, an artist and plant biologist with an MFA from UMaine. In addition to the core team, ISP incorporates the work of numerous student researchers and collaborators. Each member of the team brings unique perspectives, expertise and backgrounds to the project. 

Cavalcanti, for instance, incorporates sculpture into the project’s work. Gathering refuse found on coastal preserves, she creates works of assemblage made out of flotsam and jetsam, commenting on humanity’s relationship to its surroundings. Beeftink, contrastingly, examines people’s relationship to their surroundings by looking at how people experience the soundscapes themselves. Beeftink explained, “In a world where people are constantly being pinged, sounds going off, lots of distractions, I think what really appeals to me is how natural sounds and natural landscapes can be healing and can provide all of these health benefits, not just physical benefits [but] emotional benefits, to the visitors who are experiencing it.”

The Island Soundscape Project’s latest work, 5 Preserves, was exhibited at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts from August 7 through August 24, 2024. Other recent works can be found at the Great Cranberry Island Historical Society’s museum, at the ISP’s website and Bandcamp page, and at various lectures and presentations at UMaine and elsewhere.

Written by: Daniel Timmermann and Matthew Liderbach

Contact: Daniel Timmermann, daniel.timmermann@maine.edu