Join us on 21 May at 7.30pm as artists Hannah Kemp-Welch and Lisa Hall, members of Shortwave Collective, demonstrate the group’s practice of using the electromagnetic spectrum as artistic material. Attempting to engage the metal structures of Noorani Metal Sound as a giant antenna, we meet in time for dusk, where radio signals are most likely to be captured. Their performance lecture will incorporate a search for sounds from near and far, transduced into a collective demonstration of DIY radio-making.

This event is the fourth in a public programme series curated by researcher, writer and sound practitioner Syma Tariq. Full programme listings can be found on our website.

Please note that planned tube strikes are taking place on this date; we recommend allowing extra travel time and checking your route in advance.

Shortwave Collective is an international feminist artist group using the electromagnetic spectrum as artistic material. They deliver workshops constructing open and untunable radio receivers that connect the listener to a fusion of natural radio emissions and human-generated transmissions. Their collective practice includes performances and installations, most recently for Somaphon Festival (DE), Struer Tracks (DK), and at Cafe Oto (UK). Recent artistic research projects include the text and participatory performance Radio-Dreaming into the Electromagnetic Commons (2025) and an audio work with companion text No ‘Go-Go Girls (on the Dancefloor)’ (2026). Reflections on their methodology for radio-listening as a plural, situated and embodied endeavour are shared in Bodies of Sound: Becoming a Feminist Ear (eds. Revell & Shin, 2024).