Voices and Dreams from a Tide Isle; A Soundscape from Portland.

Editors: Karathanasopoulou, E., Wegman, A.

Publication Date: 2025

Issue: n/a

Publisher: https://soundcloud.com/voices-and-dreams/voices-and-dreams-from-a-tide-isle-a-soundscape-from-portland-dorset-at-a-time-of-crisis-and-community?si=c530b8afc18b456a8af68d779f593832&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Place of Publication: Soundcloud

Abstract:

This soundscape offers a space to hear and explore the voices, dreams and reflections of women volunteers who supported male asylum seekers on the Bibby Stockholm barge in Portland Dorset through a soundscape that evokes the psychosocial mood and emotions of the time. As we listen to their voices taking us through their dreamscapes, we find a shared locale, both conscious and unconscious, which they inhabit. Hidden rooms appear in the volunteers' homes as they collect suitcases to give to the men to help them make their way through hostile and unknown waters.

The project emerged from a need to create a reparative community voice as a response to the racism stirred up in relation to fantasies of migration for which the barge became a powerful symbol, attracting global media attention. Our research team used a mix of social dreaming, poetry and audio media to give voice and to access the conscious and unconscious feelings of the women from the Portland Global Friendship Group who felt compelled to assist the men on the barge and show solidarity with them and each other at a time of division and upheaval. The soundscape works with the sounds of Portland and gives space to the women’s dreams, reflections and shared experiences during a time of crisis and anxiety, but also of hope and community. Stories emerge of loss, belonging, fear, incarceration, the search for home, displacement and family.

We chose to use Social Dreaming as a way of working with the volunteer group to get at the emotional core of their experiences. By isolating I-statements within the transcripts of a Social Dreaming event, we used the participants’ own words to create a blended group poem. This was then offered to the participants to reflect on in a recorded group interview, extracts of which are part of the soundscape. Sounds of the sea of Portland punctuate the rhythm of the piece and provide an evocative link between the everyday reality of the women’s experiences and their internal worlds.

Research/Production Team: Produced & Edited by Dr Evi Karathanasopoulou, Research Fellow at Bournemouth University, Associate Professor at York St John University.

Produced by Prof Candida Yates, Professor Emerita in Psychosocial and Cultural Studies at Bournemouth University & Visiting Professor at The University of the West of England.

Produced by Dr Lita Crociani-Windland, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Psychosocial Studies; Director for the Centre of Social Dreaming at the University of the West of England.

Produced by Dr Siobhan Lennon Patience, Project Co-ordinator for the Weymouth and Portland Community Research Network and the Dorset Research Engagement Network; Inclusive Research Coordinator for the Lantern Trust.

Studio Production and Field Recordings: Alex Wegman, Demonstrator In Film and Television Production at Bournemouth University.

℗ 2025 Candida Yates, Evi Karathanasopoulou, Lita Crociani-Windland, Siobhan Lennon-Patience, Alex Wegman. For Permissions of Use, Contact Candidayates@gmail.com P Line: ℗ 2025 Candida Yates, Evi Karathanasopoulou, Lita Crociani-Windland, Siobhan Lennon-Patience, Alex Wegman. For Permissions of Use, Contact Candida Yates: cyates@bournemouth.ac.uk

Source: Manual