"sonambiente berlin 2006 - festival for listening and seeing" is being organized under the motto "klang kunst sound art" by the Academy of Arts and the Berlin Festival from June 1 - July 16 in Berlin, at the same time as the FIFA World Cup 2006. Sound installations, tone artworks and concerts of experimental music by international composers and sound artists will be held at special historic sites in the old and new capital. Some of these pieces will be performed as world premieres or German premieres. Major protagonists from the international sound art scene will be represented, as will be promising young artists and academy graduates.

It is particularly important to emphasize the strong increase in significance attributed to sound for works in the visual arts. Integrating a series of celebrated artists, such as Aernout Mik, Pipilotti Rist or Finnbogi Pétursson is intended to highlight this trend in practice. At the same time, digital artworks and installations are presented in new media. An audio book catalogue will elucidate issues relating to the relationship between sound and art, as well as providing a lasting documentary record for the festival. Individual sound installations will remain in place after the festival and World Cup have come to an end at popular public venues in Berlin. This will provide a further enrichment for the cultural and artistic life in the capital.

Project framework: June 1 - July 16, 2006. Project venue: various sites in Berlin. Project partners: Akademie der Künste Berlin, Berliner Festspiele (http://www.maerzmusik.de/de/aktuell/). Curators: Georg Weckwerth, Matthias Osterwold