News
Stephan Moore
Wed, March 8, 2023, 5:30pm Artist talk and gallery opening with Dr. Stephan Moore, sound artist. Stephan Moore is a sound artist, designer, composer, improviser, programmer, engineer, teacher, and curator based in Chicago. His creative…
Keep readingThe Women of Women of Folkways
Thursday, March 2nd, 2023. “The Women of Women of Folkways”, with Dana Wylie and Maria Dunn. With the annual Women of Folkways concert just around the corner, join us for an evening of discussion and reminiscences with Women of…
Keep readingRead more news on
Sound Art Gallery – upcoming exhibitions
March 8 – 29: New work: Caldera by Stephan Moore
8th – 30th March. Premiere of Caldera, new octophonic sound work by visiting artist Stephan Moore.
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.