“Lost and Found: Sounds of the Maine Coast” with Dianne Ballon (Zoom Only)

The Camden Public Library is pleased to welcome sound artist Dianne Ballon for her presentation “Lost and Found: Sounds of the Maine Coast” on Thursday, April 3 at 6:30 PM.

This program will take place on Zoom only. Click here to register and receive the link to attend: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yDbO0MRYT7SeSPseais4-Q

This virtual presentation is drawn from Dianne Ballon’s exhibit in collaboration with Maine Maritime Museum, which explores the significant role of sound in maritime environments. Viewers/Listeners of this program will experience and be encouraged to think about soundscapes along Maine’s coast from artistic, scientific, technological, historical, and personal perspectives. The audio you will experience are from Dianne’s field recordings of Maine harbors and coastal waters. From the Maritime Museum’s collection, she recorded the historical—bells, whistles and early foghorns.

Ballon’s exhibit and presentation “investigate the idea of ‘lost’ and ‘found’ maritime sounds and invite visitors to reflect on how sound affects our individual and collective memory” (Maine Maritime Museum).

To experience the high fidelity of sound that will be presented, headphones or good quality speakers are highly recommended, though anyone will be able to enjoy the variety of this presentation through their computer so long as it has sound capabilities.

Images courtesy of Dianne Ballon and Maine Maritime Museum.

The Camden Public Library carries on its Maritime Month tradition this April by once again featuring a month-long exhibit from the Penobscot Marine Museum and hosting a series of themed programs. Join us in celebrating our maritime heritage!

Dianne Ballon (pronounced BAL’en) is a sound artist from Portland, Maine. She received a Maine Artist Fellowship from the Maine Arts Commission. Her sound works have aired on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.
Her recent exhibition at the Maine Maritime Museum, Lost and Found: Sounds of the
Maine Coast, featured her field recordings of working harbors, boatyards, and the sounding buoys of Casco Bay. From the museum’s collection, she recorded the historical, circa 1900— bells, whistles and early foghorns.

Her coastal sound work was featured in Yankee and Down East magazines and on the
podcasts Radio Maine, The Natural Curiosity Project and Light Hearted: the Official
Podcast of the United States Lighthouse Society. Her field recording, Boats Creaking at a Dock in Iceland, was awarded at an international radio art competition. She produced audio for the national exhibition: The Marines and Tet: The Battle That Changed the Vietnam War. At Shenandoah National
Park, she was awarded an Artist-in-Residency. At the National Audio Theatre Festivals, she produced radio theatre. She produced audio for Tactile Images, a company that creates fine art for museums that is accessible to the blind, through touch and sound.

At the University of Maine at Augusta, Dianne taught audio production and radio theatre. Currently, she teaches audio through Maine College of Art & Design, SALT Institute for Documentary Studies.

For more about her work, visit: www.dianneballonsound.com and Maine
Maritime Museum Has All the Bells and Whistles.