Signal and Site is a course in field recording and critical listening—attending to the sonic ecologies of Margate’s urban, coastal, and environmental spaces, and culminating in a public listening event at The Margate School of Art.

Course tutor

Amias Hanley is an artist-researcher working with sound and listening across sonic ecologies and auditory cultures. Their work examines how listening practices and sound-sensing infrastructures shape relations between bodies, environments, and power — raising questions about who and what is listened to, how meaning is assigned, and the politics embedded in sonic relations. Through spatialised composition, installation, sound sculpture, creative computing, writing, and performance, their work aims to develop sonic propositions that challenge fixed categories and invite alternative modes of sensing across species, ecologies, and technologies.

Their work has been shown at Southwark Park Galleries, Ars Electronica Festival, McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery, and Latrobe Regional Gallery, among others. They have published with High Pitch Magazine, Georg Olms Verlag, Sulina Publishing House, Disclaimer Journal, the Journal of Intercultural Studies, and Unlikely Journal.

Eight-Week Signal and Site:
Field Recording, Listening, and Sonic Ecologies | By Amias Hanley

Course details

Dates

Tuesday 28 April - 23 June 2026

Times

1:30 pM - 4:30 PM

Cohort size

Up to 10 places

Fees

£255

Location

The Margate School of Art

Duration

8 sessions

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Overview

Over eight weeks, participants will develop skills in recording techniques, critical listening, and attending to the sonic ecologies of Margate’s urban, coastal, and environmental spaces. The course combines hands-on equipment training, guided listening exercises, group discussion, and individual practice—drawing on sound art, soundscape studies, and site-responsive artistic methodologies.

Participants will work with a range of microphones and recording equipment, learning how different devices hear differently, and how recording decisions shape the work produced. Sessions will move between the studio and the field, with Margate itself—its seafront, streets, and in-between spaces—as the primary environment we respond to.

A course workbook will structure participants’ development throughout, providing frameworks for sound mapping, field notes, listening exercises, and reflection. This workbook becomes a portfolio of practice as well as a tool for developing and sharing final presentations of recordings and creative responses. The course culminates in a listening event at The Margate School of Art, where participants share their work—whether a composed piece, a curated sequence of recordings, a performance, or a contextualised presentation.

Signal and Site is open to anyone with a curiosity about listening and sonic environments and their inhabitants. It would particularly suit artists of all disciplines, musicians, and sound practitioners. No prior experience in field recording is required, though participants should be comfortable learning to handle sound equipment and working with recordings on a laptop. The course is designed to be rigorous and rewarding for those coming to field recording for the first time as well as for practitioners looking to deepen or redirect an existing practice.
By the end of the course, students will have:

Developed practical skills in field recording technique, microphone selection, and audio recording across a range of environments

Built a body of recorded material through engagement with Margate’s urban, coastal, and environmental spaces

Developed an understanding of sonic ecologies, soundscape studies, and site-responsive sound art as they relate to practice

Completed a course workbook as a portfolio of their development and recorded work

Produced and publicly shared a final piece
Students at The Margate School of Art benefit from:

Group and individual guidance and feedback throughout the course

A range of field recording equipment, including directional and omnidirectional microphones, portable recorders, and specialist devices including hydrophone and geophone.

A course workbook to structure practice and development across the eight weeks

Access to TMS studio facilities during sessions
Participants are encouraged to bring a laptop if they have one. Guidance on suitable free audio editing software will be provided during the course. Those with their own recording equipment are welcome to bring it, though all necessary kit will be provided.