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Join us for an afternoon film screening and an introduction by the artist.

Of This Parish is a recent film work by liminal (Frances Crow and David Prior), investigating the role of bells in articulating acoustic territory. Journeying from a church tower out to the threshold at which its bells can be heard, the film is both a sonic portrait of Sul – the Parish in the Gralheira mountains of Portugal where it is set – and a meditation on the changing role of bells in a rural community.

Of This Parish begins with the idea of a Parish as territory defined by sound, a community whose borders are drawn by the earshot of a bell.  As we travel from the epicentre of the community to its outer limits, we encounter bells used as a call to prayer, bells as time-keepers and alarms and also bells as pre-Christian protectors, casting the talismans inscribed in their metal across the phonosphere, purifying the air.

There will be a short introduction to the film by the artist. The film will be followed by a Q&A with the artist. For more information on the wider project from which the film emerged, click here.

David Prior is an artist and musician. With Architect Frances Crow, he is a partner in liminal, a practice that explores the relationship between sound, listening and space.  Their work encompasses site-specific interventions and sound walks, gallery installations, performances, research and film.  In 2010 they won the PRS Foundation New Music Award with their piece, Organ of Corti. 

David’s music and films have been performed, screened and broadcast around Europe and North America and has won a number of international competitions including Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Cornelius Cardew Prize, E.A.R (Hungarian Radio), and the George Butterworth prize. As a sound designer he has made permanent, multi-ward winning installations for The Imperial War Museum, The New York Historical Society, The Thomas Jefferson Museum and the Guinness Storehouse, amongst others.

David holds a PhD in music from the University of Birmingham and has taught widely across the UK, North America and Europe and he is Associate Professor in Music and Sound Art at Falmouth University where he leads the Sonva research group.  David is currently editing The Oxford Handbook of Sound Art for Oxford University Press with Jane Grant and John Matthias.

Richard Long: TIME AND SPACE

This event accompanies the major exhibition TIME AND SPACE by Richard Long at Arnolfini, that explores the artist’s enduring relationship with the landscape of Bristol and the South West – a starting point for so many of his iconic works. This exhibition will bring together recreations of previous important works and entirely new commissions, both in the gallery and on The Downs, where the artist spent much of his childhood. A programme of events accompanies the exhibition and offsite commission, including walks, talks and conversations, family events, screenings and performances. Read more…