Polyphonic Social is an annual Liquid Architecture project taking place at Melbourne’s Abbotsford Convent. It is framed by the proposition that artists practice polyphony in vastly expanded and experimental ways.

Polyphony is a state in which we hear many different voices, in their full texture, simultaneously. (Poly/many + phonos/voices). It is a sonic concept with much artistic and social potential; to make difference audible, ‘sound’ disobedience, choreograph dissonance, and explore the harmonies produced when we bring voices together (and apart) in shared space.

Polyphonic Social 2019 unfolds across two events occupying the Convent’s historic, recently restored Magdalen Laundry with experimental sound, performance, and installation. At the heart of the program is a powerful 8 speaker sound system, deployed by artists to articulate the cavernous acoustic space of the building in uncanny, immersive, and unexpected ways.

Friday 18 Oct, 7–11pm. Tickets: $24–36

Featuring:  Japanese electro-punk auteur Phew; Australian composer, pianist and electronic musician Anthony Pateras; French experimentalist eRikm, and Australian ritual vocalist Sage Pbbbt.

Saturday 19 Oct, 3–6pm. Free, RSVP required

Featuring: Indonesian artist, coder, and horror-aficionado Natasha Tontey; Chinese Singaporean artist Zou Zhao, and British Australian artist Sarah crowEST.

Saturday 19 Oct, 7–11pm. Tickets: $24–36

Featuring Nigerian American experimental sound-artist Chino Amobi; Melbourne-based electronic artist Nina Buchanan; Salvadoran Australian sound artist Lucrecia Quintanilla, and Chilean Australian musician Bryan Phillips.

Program here

Presented by Liquid Architecture, Abbotsford Convent and Triple R. Supported by City of Yarra and System Sound.