We’re All Bats

Click here to view the whole programme of events

We’re All Bats present a special programme of sound art and listening, inviting all ages to rediscover the art of listening. 

When was the last time you just stopped and listened? In our busy lives, it is easy to take listening for granted but We’re All Bats are trying to change that. Through a huge series of creative workshops, activities and special events, We’re All Bats invite you to rediscover and reimagine what it means to listen and hear the world around you. 

Inspired by bats and the way in which they use sound to find their way around the world and live their lives, this project helps us to try and do the same. Highlights include exploring the borough through music events, walks guided by sound and underwater music at a swimming pool. You will also be able to create sound with synthesizer and instrument making workshops or experience sound differently with an audio massage or meditative sound baths.

Programme information 

Wet Sounds - Audiences of all ages are invited to jump in the pool and listen to music above and below the water surface. The swimming pool is transformed with light, sound and performance.

Junk Orchestra and family day music jam - Families are invited for an exploratory activity of making instruments from disused items, ends in a fun musical jam. Led by Junk Orchestra.

Recording Hidden Sounds Workshop – Developing recording skills using different kinds of microphones. Listening to electromagnetic waves, underwater sounds, field recordings, infra-sound and ultra-sound Led by world-renowned sound recordist Jez Riley French. 

Audio Massage Stations– Two volunteers will invite passers-by to sit and receive an audio massage. 

Bats lecture – A talk about how bats rely on listening and how is it affected by our sound ecology in Waltham Forest. Led by The London Bat Group. 

Concerts – for listening – Two events presenting live music made for listening with eyes closed from musical traditions of Eastern Europe and South Asian cultures represented in the borough. Co-curated by SOAS Radio and presented on their network.

Musical Hydrotherapy – A unique form of listening through water supported by aquatic bodywork practitioners. Led by Liquid Vibrations https://www.liquidvibrations.org.uk 

We’re All Bats creators, Newtoy, present art events that are interested in curiosity and conversation. Through a wide range of events and activities, Newtoy invites you to see, or hear, the world differently. 

Part of the Make it Happen Fellowship Funding programme.