Cheryl Beer

HONORARY MEMBER OF THE TOP 100 PIONEERING WOMEN FOR HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARTS ( WWEN : 2020 )

We all know that nature helps us to feel more human. Welcome, my name is Cheryl Beer. I am a hearing impaired, environmental sound artist, composer & eco-journalist living on the West coast of Wales, Making work that makes a difference is really important to me. I care deeply about enabling nature her own voice, which is why I compose music led by the biorhythms of the natural world. I do this by repurposing hearing aid and biomedical technologies in ways that I would never have imagined possible before ...

Until 5 years ago, I was a musician in the traditional sense, but then, overnight, my life changed. It was the absence of birdsong that alerted me to sudden hearing loss, severe tinnitus & hyperacusis. I learnt first-hand how devastating it can be to disconnect with nature sounds & how incredibly healing it is to be reconnected. My deepened understanding of how the natural world nurtures well being, inspires me to push the boundaries of art & technology, sculpting virtual soundscapes that connect us viscerally towards a deeper sense of place.

Read Cheryl's Story ...

Did you know that we have rainforests, right here, in Wales? Most people are unaware that we have rainforests, right on our doorstep. Carbon dated back 10,000 years, the Celtic Rainforests were once intertwined by a fine feathery funghi called mycelium, until we 'developed' the modern world and cut down the trees, separating them & now, we have just 4 fragile pockets remaining. Viewed as one of the most significant pieces of eco-history across the globe, our rainforests are in distress.

Cân y Coed is my new commission, empowering the rainforests of Wales by reuniting them through biorhythms beneath the bark, bringing the song of the trees from the soil to the digital world. Based with Coed Cadw & the Celtic Rainforest Project, Cân y Coed Sound Sculpture will launch by QR Code in June 2022 at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. Meanwhile, pull on your virtual wellies and join me for this extraordinary opportunity to find out what the music of the Earth is trying to tell us & the awe-inspiring secrets it holds.

Join Cheryl in the Rainforests

Daeth Cheryl i Gymru gyntaf yn ei harddegau ac erbyn iddi orffen ei gradd gyntaf ym Mhrifysgol De Cymru, roedd wedi cwympo mewn cariad â'r diwylliant, y bobl a’r cefn gwlad – Cymru yw ei chartref bellach ac, er nad yw'n siarad Cymraeg, mae'n chwilio am ffyrdd o gynnwys yr iaith yn ei gwaith.

cymraeg

Notating the Waves ...

Cheryl's research into notating the visualisation of nature came as an AHA moment when she was based at the flood defence walls of the Millennium Coastal Path, as part of a mentorship with ADDO Creative, during the pandemic. She realised, by applying the same technology that audiologists use during hearing tests, ie/spectral frequency & digital sound, she could measure the notated pitch of the sea & compose music led by the natural world. The first notated recording she made was of a wave in slow motion during high tide. For Cheryl, it sounded like the call from the temple roof, a call to prayer, for others it is a warning from the deep ... See what you think by pressing play & watching her end presentation for the work. Due to the significance of this research, Cheryl has archived the full findings here, so that you can delve more deeply. Click the link below to find out more.

SOUNDWAVES R&D

Welsh Language Transcript

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Disabled Peoples' Cultural & International Manifesto

Cheryl was commissioned to create a piece for the launch of a game changing new Manifesto that responds to articles 30 and 32 of the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Disabled People, showing our elected representatives and public bodies how they can deliver on our creative rights. Her piece, ‘Bard Beneath the Bark’ draws a comparative dialogue between the discourse of climate crisis & the position of disabled people, both within the cultural arts sector & wider society.

H2O @ COP26

Cheryl's innotive film about climate change, H2O, was showcased by Wales Arts International (WAI) as part of their Cymru COP26 Campaign for the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. WAI enable international work in the arts through collaborations, projects, networks and communication, offering a gateway between the arts of Wales and the world. The film was made at Coed Lletywalter Rainforest during Cheryl's residency with Coed Cadw & the Celtic Rainforest Project. To watch H20, click the link opposite & visit Wales Arts International website.

Climate Justice & the use
of art as a tool of change.

Cheryl was commissioned as an Unlimited panelist for their event regarding how artists are using art as a tool for highlighting the Climate Emergency & how we can continue to effect change together. She was also invited as a one of 4 leading disabled artists addressing Climate Change to pitch her work as an Environmental Sound Artist. Her film H2O was shown to key members of the industry looking for creative ways to address the emergency. The event is part of a BLOG for #Unltdconnects & was shared in the run up to & during COP26. In addition her photograph of Coed Felenrhyd Rainforest became the title image for the debate.

Everything Change & COP26

Earlier this year, Cheryl was invited to take part in a tri-national event between Wales, India & Canada, about the Climate Crisis. Headed up by Taliesin Arts Centre at Swansea University, Dharka Literature Festival in India & Award Winning Author Margaret Atwood, in Canada - 'Everything Change' is a radical call from the world of creativity to open conversations & provocations about new & innovative ways of addressing the crisis!

In the run up & during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, the Everything Change Team have collated & published all of the work from the event. Cheryl's commission can be seen in the youtube link opposite, as part of Changing Justice, hosted by Jane Davidson. If you click the 'Watch on Youtube' icon, it will take you to the full conference, including the opening speech by Margaret Atwood, best known for her utopian novel recently adapted for television; 'The Handmaid's Tale'.

invite cheryl as a panelist or contributor

Community Sound Art

community arts

As the Founder & Director of Sound Memories Dementia Friendly Radio Station, Cheryl designs & delivers projects t0 support older people in creating their own Memory Resources, through Life Story & Nature Narrative. This work has won a GOLD National Award from the Wales Care Forum, was awarded an Outstanding Contribution to Drama from the University of South Wales & Cheryl's Health & Arts Empowerment Model was published in a co-paper written with Nick Andrews for the International Journal of Storytelling in Health. Sound Memories Radio won an Excellence in Digital Media Award from the Celebration of Arts & Culture. It is wonderful for the work to be recognised in this way, but what really matters to Cheryl is how it transforms people's lives, Throughout the pandemic, Sound Memories quickly became an inspirational online resource, with over 5000 attending online WALK19 exhibitions. Cheryl is still working hard to bring the healing nature of the virtual outdoors to the older community, through partnership working with older people themselves, & the organisations that support them.

''Cheryl is a creative humanitarian. Her visionary projects enable sustainable social change & continue to impact Arts & Health strategy at the very core of Welsh life. ''