The Sound Practice Research (SPR) group comprises students from various disciplines at the Folkwang University of the Arts. SPR led by Jan St. Werner and Michael Akstaller, has teamed up with CTM Festival and the Futures of Listening initiative to create an artistic lab that invites international artists to engage in several days of theoretical discussion and practical experimentation around spatial sound.
Spatial audio is a complex and rapidly developing new field of research and artistic practice. Its landscape is on the one hand growing via industry giants such as Dolby Atmos or Apple’s Spatial Audio, as well as a variety of proprietary systems from other major manufacturers that provide scalable off-the-shelf solutions driven by economic objectives. On the other hand, independent artists and sound engineers are developing their own, often experimental formats, custom technologies, and idiosyncratic strategies to not only simulate spatialisation but to actively use it as a compositional element of sound and music.
In this spirit, the Spatial Audio Experimentation Lab aims to foster an integrative approach that connects open technological innovation, artistic practice, and academic research. Rather than focusing on closed, proprietary systems, the lab encourages critical reflection, creative exploration, and experimentation through diverse approaches. It seeks to stimulate dialogue among a range of stakeholders including the independent arts scene and the research community, to explore spatial audio not only as a technical standard but also as an artistic medium that should also remain accessible and flexible to ever new formats for learning and exchange. In doing so, it approaches sound as an autonomous artistic medium that extends beyond music. Particular emphasis is put on the relationship between sound, space, and architecture, exploring how sound shapes environments and how environments, in turn, shape perception.
What Will Happen in the Lab?
The lab will take place over the course of four days, running 21–24 January 2027 at venue silent green. It consists of a series of theoretical inputs and hands-on experiments, culminating in public presentations as part of CTM Festival. The core of the lab is focused on collaboration, collective experimentation, and interaction with surrounding architecture / environments. Some activities include:
- Recording/ experimentation field trips to various Berlin locations
- Listening & mixing sessions
- Collaborative listening exercises
- Exchange sessions between participants
- Theoretical input sessions by international researchers, open to the public
- Collective public presentation by fellows as part of a free-entry event
Conditions
The call is open to artists worldwide. Applicants should have an already existing practice that ties into this lab’s focus on collaborative spatial sound experimentation, as well as clear ideas or questions on what next steps they would like to take in expanding their practice.
Up to 6 participants will be selected by Jan St. Werner, Michael Akstaller, and several members of SPR.
Participants will receive a festival pass to CTM Festival events. We are able to provide selected fellows with letters of invitation for those needing them for visa or funding applications, or other professional reasons. Please note that we are unable to cover travel or accommodation costs.
Due to the international nature of the lab, a working knowledge of English is recommended. If you have any concerns about working in English please indicate this in the application form so that we can discuss and plan with you.
Schedule and Deadlines
- Application Deadline: 15 October 2026 at 23:59 CET.
- Results communicated to all applicants: by mid-November 2026
- Lab runs: 21 – 24 January 2027
- CTM Festival runs: 22 – 31 January 2027
Questions
Please send an email to application(at)ctm-festival.de with the subject »Spatial Audio Experimentation Lab 2027« should you have any questions about applying.
A Note on AI
We want to hear your ideas in your own voice.
What matters to us most is your artistic thinking, not elaborate application writing. We recognise the helpfulness of AI tools to help brainstorm, structure, translate, or polish applications, especially for people whose first language is not English. We are looking for your authorship and clarity of ideas – meaning your perspective, your artistic reasoning, and what genuinely drives your proposal. Applications where AI has replaced rather than supported that voice are harder for the jury to evaluate meaningfully and may not stand out.
Application Form
Please note that this open call is for solo artists / projects only.
After filling out the form and pressing »Next,« you will be able to preview your answers before submitting.
About the Hosts
Sound Practice Research
The two-year Master’s programme Sound Practice Research at Folkwang University of the Arts offers an interdisciplinary exploration of sound and music, combining theoretical inquiry with practical and artistic experimentation. Led by artist and musician Jan St. Werner and supported by an international team of faculty members and guest contributors, the programme integrates music, performance, artistic research, cultural studies, media production, musicology, art, architecture and methodologies of multiperspectival and experimental contemporary composition. To learn more about the tuition-free programme please contact: soundpracticeresearch@folkwang-uni.de.
Jan St. Werner
Jan St. Werner is co-founder of the experimental music group Mouse on Mars and releases music and visual work under his own name via Edition Fiepblatter Catalogue. Werner presented art works at Ural Biennale, documenta 14 Athens and Kassel, Lenbachhaus Munich, MSU Zagreb, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, Venice Biennial a.o. His musical collaborations span from Lee Scratch Perry, Mark E Smith, Stereolab, a.o. and he regularly performs together with Mats Gustafsson and Johan Berthing under the moniker IFANAME as well as with David Grubbs and Jules Reidy. Werner directs the Sound Practice Research programme at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany.
Michael Akstaller
Michael Akstaller’s work draws on fluid dynamics and (hydro)acoustics, listening to the physical world through experiments with water, resonance, directed sound and the peculiar acoustics of architecture. The movements of sound are tracked through environments, allowing space, structures, wind and flowing water to become active parts of the work. His collaborations with artists and scientists have produced installations and performances disclosing the smallest vibrations of a place, from resonant chambers and architectural voids to the shifting surfaces of rivers. His work has been presented internationally at institutions and exhibitions such as the German Pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale (2024), Turkish Pavilion Venice Architecture Biennale (2025), Silent Green, Berlin (2023), Lenbachhaus, Munich (2021, 2022), Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden (2021, 2022), among others. Currently Michael Akstaller is teaching Sound Practice Research at Folkwang University of the Arts
Partners
Folkwang University of the Arts
Folkwang University of the Arts is recognised worldwide as one of the most vibrant and prolific institutions for the arts in Germany with a unique tradition of fostering a cross-disciplinary environment ideal for experimental artistic work and research-led artistic practice.
Futures of Listening
Futures of Listening is a Netherlands-based platform supporting emerging developments in spatial sound, immersive experiences, performance, and installation art. Founded by FIBER Festival, 4DSOUND, Robin Koek, and Art of Sound at the Royal Conservatoire The Hague – and with international partners CTM Festival, MONOM, MUTEK, and the PXL University of Applied Sciences and Arts – the initiative connects artists with a broad network of artistic, scientific, and cultural partners.
Signal Permeability
Signal Permeability is a collaborative project between Sound Practice Research at Folkwang University of the Arts and Sound Studies at Berlin University of the Arts (UdK), organised, and managed by students from both universities and supported by MIDAP. The project provides a platform for collaborative exploration, co-educational encounters, self-directed projects, and experimental practices in sound. These processes take shape through live performances, exhibitions, and other forms of shared artistic practice.
A collaboration between CTM Festival, Sound Practice Research / Folkwang University of the Arts, and Futures of Listening. Futures of Listening is funded by the CIIIC – Creative Industries Immersive Impact Coalition. With further contributions from the Sound Studies programme at the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK).