May 1 - December 1
 

Returning for the 2022 Season!
 

Artpark's Sonic Trails is a visionary season of site reactive audio experiences presented in a mobile app designed by The Holladay Brothers, curated and co-produced by Sozo Creative. With a hyper-local and global perspective, Sozo Creative and Artpark have brought together some of the most influential BIPOC voices in music to cultivate aural experiences exploring the unique geological and historic Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park.

Throughout the summer at Artpark, your key to expansive horizons, endless epiphanies and sensory delights will be right in your pocket: an immersive, choose-your-own-adventure to be experienced alone or with loved ones.

Click here to view a map of all the Sonic Trails experiences, or here to view a map of all of Artpark's trails. You can also download a mobile version for the Avenza Maps app here.

Four original Artpark Sonic Trails experiences await you and can be enjoyed at Artpark daily from dawn until dusk on your mobile device via app download (see below).

The Buffalo News’ Jeff Miers had this to say after experiencing Sonic Trails: 

“In a flash, I felt the power of the land and the presence of those who had passed through it. Not in some Hallmark Channel, neatly wrapped-with-a-bow manner. But through a strong and deep mini-epiphany that was both exhilarating and profoundly sad.”

Download the free Artpark Sonic Trails app now!

Due to the amount of music contained within the experience we recommend downloading this app before you arrive at Artpark.


Available programs are listed below.


Cover The Water

The Holladay Brothers are composers, multimedia artists and pioneers of location-aware experiences. Cover The Water is an original music composition they birthed out of pandemic limitations and during their artistic residency at Artpark in 2020. The pair creates unique experiences that map music to a physical landscape and are released as mobile apps that use GPS to dynamically alter the music as the listener explores their surroundings.

To enjoy your experience of Cover The Water, please arrive at the Lower Park (South 4th Street entrance) and proceed to the Lot C "Niagara 1979" painted parking lot.

Her Mocassins Talk

Based on the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address, Her Moccasins Talk (HMT) enables Artpark visitors to become one with the natural world in a uniquely immersive way. Curated by Indigenous bridge builder and Artpark's Indigenous Arts Producer, Michele-Elise Burnett and featuring local First Nations Knowledge Keepers, storytellers, and singers, HMT takes parkgoers through a mindful journey that will let them experience the landscape through an Indigenous lens -- guided by the nurturing matriarch's voice and carried along by inspirational songs and sounds.

The path along the Mighty Niagara will help guests look inward, rediscover themselves and reflect on the harmony and balance of all living things.

Featured performers and contributors:

Semiah Smith - The Thanksgiving Address
Jordan Smith - Old Moccasins, Women’s Dance Song, Old Fish Dance, Shake the Bush song
Gary Parker - Friendship Dance, Rabbit Dance Song, Elm Flute Song, Cedar Flute, Round Dance Song for the Ancestors
Strong Water - Women Love Song, Niibi Water Song by Grandmother Josephine, Wensiiryo by Niiki Shawana, Snake Medicine by Val King, The Eagle Song gifted by Odemin Kwe Singers, Unity Stomp Dance, Cherokee Morning Song, The Longest Yard
Adrian Harjo - Drum and Jingle Song, Honor Song for the Natural World
Josie and Cherie - Believe, Josie Balance Song, Cherie’s Health Healing Song, Kaie:ri by Bear Fox
Quinna Hamby -Tuscarora Water Song
Carin Jean White - Earth Song
Darryl Tomeh Tuscarora - Flute Bridge
Michele-Elise Burnett - (spoken narrative throughout)

To enjoy your experience for Her Moccasins Talk, please begin at Artpark's Upper Trail (entrance near the Outdoor Amphitheater).

Build A House: Rhiannon Giddens & Yo-Yo Ma

Created by Grammy Award-winning musician, historian and Silkroad Ensemble Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens, in collaboration with celebrated Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Weaving banjo, folk music, and storytelling, this guided walk centers the profound contributions of African Americans on American culture, music and history, seeking to imagine a society of inclusion, connection, empathy and justice.

Credits:

Build A House narrative
Text by Rhiannon Giddens and Silkroad
Narration by Rhiannon Giddens
Additional text and stories from Lewiston, NY by Carin Jean White

Global Futures: Kronos Quartet

A collaboration with world-renowned Kronos Quartet and its series of global commissions, 50 for the Future: The Kronos Learning Repertoire. Original compositions from select women composers will weave together to transport you worldwide through an intricate musical legacy of tradition and innovation. The experience focuses optimism, beauty and discovery to compose a global story of interconnectedness.

To enjoy your experience of Global Futures, please begin at the main parking lot when arriving from South 4th Street.