IMAGES FROM DESIGN CONCEPT FOR LOOP LOVE, all designs by Alex Pentek.

Core research questions: What kinds of strategies invite and enable the demographic of people with mild to moderate learning disAbilities who visit facilities at the Cope Foundation, Cork, to improvise with and generate magical worlds by using the non-normative qualities of voice? What human intervention, object design, experience design, dramaturgical strategies, and intervention strategies invite our demographic to become genuine co-artists of extended voice experiences? Some sub-questions include: To what extent is ‘intensive interaction’ meaningful to this demographic? What is the place of the social experience of vocal sound for this demographic?

Voice-Art-Able uses our learning from the Resonant Tails project to explore how best to invite people with mild to moderate learning disAbility inside the act of exploring the nature of their own extended voice art. We discovered that our populations in Cork particularly engaged with recording loops of their voices in layers. Our R+D process with participants/co-creators underpinned the development of our concept for Loop Love. Our research exhibition and outcomes are in process. Loop Love phase 2 was funded by Arts Council of Ireland for development in 2023-24.

Phase 1: Collaborators: Alex Pentek (visual and sculptural art; design); Jeff Weeter (audio art; coding; design); Julie O’Leary/Graffiti Theatre (independent evaluator/outside eye). Supported by the Irish Research Council New Foundations Award and University College Cork, with collaboration from the Cope Foundation. Phase 2: Alex, Jeff and I are joined by producer Yvonne Coughlan. We are supported by the Cope Foundation, UCC Theatre, Cork Opera House and funded by the participatory arts stream of Arts Council (Ireland).