The exhibition ‘Walls Have Ears: Emotional Resonance’ was part of the 2025 festival, which explored the intersection of sound art and psychological well-being. Running from 14 to 28 February 2025 at ARS Art Factory, Tallinn, Estonia, the exhibition examined how sound influences emotional states and fosters deep connections.
We believe that sound art can evoke and reflect the emotional states of listeners, making them feel understood and inviting them to explore their own inner experiences more deeply. During the festival, the ARS Art Factory is transformed into a multidimensional space where art exists not only as an auditory experience, but also resonates through the physical, emotional and cognitive realms of the audience.
We invite artists to work with the space and the theme of emotional resonance by providing a platform to explore the emotional impact of sound in a creative, experimental format. We are interested in artworks that explore how emotions can be processed or articulated from the perspective of both the audience and the artist. Artworks that express intimate, personal or even complicated emotions with the aim of opening up new perspectives on psychological well-being. The festival explores how sound art can spark conversations, change perceptions and reshape the way we feel.
ARS SOUND ART FESTIVAL
ARS Art Factory is organizing the sound art festival “The Walls Have Ears” for the second time, bringing together over twenty international artists presenting interactive, participatory, perception-based, site-specific, and conceptual works.
In the middle of the festival period, two evenings are dedicated to a sound art performance program, focusing on how artists create conditions for reinterpreting the perception of sound. Each performance approaches sound as both material and phenomenon, enabling the creation of new narratives, engagement with space, and unique sensory experiences. The program unites various practices and authors from diverse backgrounds who explore the nature of sound and its relationship to spatiotemporal contexts.
This year’s festival opens with a performance by vocal artist Eleonora Kampe (EE/LV) titled “Where to Report About a Stolen Soul?” and closes with the participatory performance “Hörselgång” by artists Charlotta Ruth (SE/AT) and Daniele Pozzi (IT/AT).
Organizers:
Sten Saarits, Taavi Varm
Production Assistant:
Egle Ehtjen
Graphic Design:
Kert Viiart
Installation Specialist:
Ian Simon Märjama
Supporters:
Estonian Artists’ Association, ARS Art Factory, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Tallinn Culture & Sports Department, Estonian Academy of Arts, Erasmus+ Program
Photography: Roman-Sten Tõnissoo
