News
Inaugural multidisciplinary podcasting bootcamp
Inaugural multidisciplinary podcasting bootcamp – From May 8-10, a collaboration between the Library’s Digital Scholarship Centre, the Sound Studies Institute and the SpokenWeb partnership co-hosted an inaugural podcasting bootcamp. Read more here!We hope to make the podcasting bootcamp available again.…
Keep readingSound Art Exhibitions
Two new sound art exhibitions co-sponsored by the Sound Studies Institute open this week as part of the 2023 SpokenWeb Symposium, by guest artists Dr. Rachel Epp Buller and Dr. Rémy Bocquillon. Exhibitions in the…
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Sound Art Gallery – upcoming exhibitions
May 1 – May 29: Winter Walking
Sound installation by Dr. Rachel Epp Buller, Fulbright Scholar and 2022 Canada Research Chair in Arts and Humanities at the University of Alberta. Presented as part of the 2023 SpokenWeb symposium.
Keep readingAbout
The Sound Studies Institute (SSI) at the University of Alberta supports research and creative activities that centralize sound in any way. SSI offers researchers opportunities to work collaboratively, discover new areas of convergent enquiry, and benefit from collective administrative support. We provide a physical and philosophical locus for sharing, exploring, and celebrating collaboration and innovation across disciplines.
As stewards of the Moses and Frances Asch Collection of Folkways Records, SSI promotes the creation, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge about of music and culture through research, archival, and performance projects. We collaborate annually with the Northern Lights Folk Club through their Winter Roots Roundup event, including our co-produced Women of Folkways concert event.
SSI is also home to a variety of research projects and affiliates, with projects that span numerous areas of inquiry, from bioacoustics and linguistics, to audio culture and the sonics arts, to name a few. We also offer outreach events including an annual lecture series, workshops on sound technology, and a variety of performance and exhibition events.
Our Spaces
The SSI offices and Sound Art Gallery are open from 10:00 – 5:00 pm, Tues-Wed-Thu. Check event times for extended evening hours.
SSI’s offices and studios are located on the North Campus of University of Alberta, in Arts and Convocation Hall (Old Arts), and include meeting and presentation spaces, digitization labs, recording and editing studios, and a variety of archival collections.

Meeting Space
Arts 347
Our main presentation and meeting space, where we hold lectures, screenings, and research group meetings

Media Lab
Arts 347-A1
Our digitization and media lab, serving several active research and digitization projects.

Editing Studio
Arts 347-A2
(coming soon!)
Small editing studio for audio and video editing, mixing, mastering, and critical listening

Sound3 Lab
Arts 147
(coming soon!)
Small recording studio with two recording rooms and a control room.
History
SSI’s home is near the south bank of the North Saskatchewan River in the heart of Edmonton, Alberta, which is on Treaty Six territory. Treaty Six is the framework that establishes the terms for sharing this place now, the agreement that locates both traditional and new cultural practices here. We are grateful also to be in the traditional territory of the Papaschase Cree First Nation, where Métis and other First Nations have sojourned and found welcome.
The cultural roots of these communities are deep, growing over thousands of years as successive newcomers to this area shared their cultural traditions. This location has particular resonance for sound studies researchers as they seek to create new forms of sonic expression and explore innovative approaches to historical and contemporary sonic environments.