This weekend artist Alisa Oleva is leading a series of collective listening walks, reflecting on migration, home and belonging.
As part of these walks, you’ll encounter sound boxes that broadcast live sounds from Santiago, Chile and Kamianske, Ukraine.
These places were chosen in collaboration with two of the participants – Coni and Dasha – in one-to-one walks which happened during Alisa’s residency with Compass in August 2023. For those walks Alisa invited people who moved or had to move to Leeds from other countries to share a walk with her exploring themes of migration, home, belonging, connection to places and memories of places.
Here, we’re sharing more about the places we’re tuning into, and what they mean to our collaborators.
Sound box connection from Santiago, Chile to Leeds
Leeds connection: Coni M
Santiago connection: Vicente Alfonso
Coni said:
‘Vicente’s flat was for many years a mix of feminist centre of operations, improvised office during the week and resting place in the middle of the city.
I always lived more on the outskirts of Santiago, so I used to spend so much time in that flat that the sounds around it felt much more like home than my actual homes in Santiago. The sound of the city centre with its awful honking, the music and the people talking loudly in the streets is so disrupting, but strangely comforting. We used to hear it all the time while having meetings, watching movies or sometimes just talking over a beer.’
Sound box connection from Kamianske, Ukraine to Leeds
Leeds connection: Dasha Zakharets – Communications Officer, based in Leeds
Kamianske connection: Ivan Zakharets – Book binder and Oksana Zakharets – Art teacher
Dasha said:
‘The chosen location is our cherished family cottage house, which has now become my parents’ permanent home. I selected this special place because it represents an unchanging sanctuary in my ever-changing life. In my heart, it is the place to rest, where the noise of city life gently fades away, replaced by nature’s soothing sounds (I hope you will be able to hear it). This cottage has been my summer refuge for as long as I can remember—a place where I could truly recharge myself amongst the whispering trees and frog clucks reaching from the pond in our garden.
What makes this location particularly meaningful is its unconditional acceptance. I’ve always felt free to be completely myself, with all my insecurities and vulnerabilities laid bare, never feeling judged. Like a warm embrace, the cottage welcomes every version of me, offering comfort through life’s ups and downs.
I have not returned there since the beginning of the full-scale war with Russia. I don’t think I will ever come back there.’
Join us this weekend
Sounds Like Home walks start in Leeds City Centre and end in Chapeltown.
