Rendezvous: Facilitating (collective listening experiences)

This thesis explores how a designer might facilitate collective listening experiences (CLEs) by incorporating curation into their practice. This research uses the CLE of listening rooms to explore the in-between space of curatorial design coined by IZK institute for contemporary art. Noticing the shift towards dematerialization in our music-listening culture, primarily mediated by smartphones and streaming, this project advocates for designers to take a similar dematerialized shift in practice. By embracing facilitation of sensory-driven experiences, designers can reimagine our everyday musicking to be more embodied and poetic. Furthermore, this work proposes future directions for listening room development including integration within art spaces, design for ritual and potential field research in Japan. This work ultimately aims to create splaces for conviviality. Spaces that foster social connection and places that promote alternative ways of being.