Cheryl Beer

Environmental Sound Artist, Cheryl Beer composes music in collaboration with the biorhythms of nature in crisis by repurposing hearing aid & biomedical technology, notating biorhythms from within the natural world. Every musical note placed on the stave is led by the environment, thus empowering nature's voice, centre stage. Interested in the relationship between sound, well-being & nature, her work raises awareness of our fragile ecologies by embodying a visceral sense of place. Playing now, is a piece of tree-led music. By delving beneath the bark, Cheryl collated the biorhythms of a sapling at Coed Felenrhyd Rainforest, using digital & visual readings to compose the piece.

PLAYING NOW : Oak Sapling

Cheryl explains how becoming suddenly hearing impaired, with hearing loss, tinnitus & hyperacusis, shaped her creative practice and the way in which she now composes with nature -

'Overnight, my life radically changed. Until that morning, I'd been a full-time musician. It was how I defined myself. Whilst waiting for my NHS hearing aids, I retreated to the woods & learnt an awakened understanding of how the natural world nurtures well-being. Compelled to 'pay back', nature, when I discovered that we have rainforests, right here, in Wales, it became my calling to raise awareness of their fragile existence. Their story, mine & that of the planet, resonated deeply. By repurposing spectral frequency, a form of visual & digital sound used in hearing aid tests, I was able to collaborate with one of the most significant ecologies across the globe & yet remarkably, we seem unaware of it. Before we can take better care of our fragile ecologies, we have to know they exist. Through my practice, I reconnect audience with our carbon cousins by evoking emotion that inspires us to better nurture eco- fragility .'

Cân y Coed Rainforest Symphony reunites 5 fragile enclaves of rainforest from across Wales. Cheryl has unearthed a previously hidden song tapestry, weaving her composition from within the vascular systems of trees, ferns & moss. Made possible via an Unlimited Main Commission, funded by the Arts Council of Wales, she spent a year with Coed Cadw, repurposing hearing aid technology & biomedical sound equipment as a resident Environmental Sound Artist. The Symphony launched at National Botanic Garden of Wales & has toured the globe since. Currently, Cheryl is preparing for a screening at the Dyer Arts Centre, Institute of Deaf Technology, New York, ending 2023 with a solo exhibition at the Houses of Parliament, London.

Where can I hear the Symphony?

National Botanic Garden Curator, Alexander Summers, advocated Cheryl's work as important both in terms of raising awareness of fragile ecologies & deconstructing disability stereotypes. Kirsten Manley at Coed Cadw said that Cheryl's work 'is the voice of the trees' & Bruce Langridge, Interpretations Manager & Mycologist, believes that Cheryl's practice has given ecology a beating heart, reaching audience emotionally in new ways. Director of the International Storytelling Festival, Naomi Wilds, describes Cheryl's work as a 'quiet energy of deep activism'.

If you would like to exhibit Cân y Coed Rainforest Symphony or Commission Cheryl to inspire greater awareness of fragile ecologies with your audience, visitors & communities, feel free to connect directly with her. Alternatively, if you'd just like to find out a bit more, visit Cheryl's Work With Me page.

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

Representing the UK & Wales

Following the success of her Symphony launch, Cheryl was invited by the UK Government to represent Britain in the Great Garden of Diversity, Qatar & joined the Wales Cultural Squad at the World Cup with Wales Arts International. At the UNESCO Conference in Paris, First Minister Mark Drakeford held up Cheryl's work as an example of best practice in Wales. Click the picture below for a full listing of current & past Cân y Coed exhibitions, talks & installations.

''We are proud to have Cheryl Beer as part of our Garden of Great.
A celebration of the incredible talent cultivated by the UK’s fresh way of thinking. ''
Alex Tucker, Senior Campaigns & Partnership Manager at The Prime Minister's Office.

Sound Art in Antarctica

Working with the Helmholtz Institute in Germany & their science team in Antartica, Cheryl was one of the selected sound artists from around the world contributing to Polar Sounds, In her blog, she explains how she applied the visualisation of sound to deconstruct the vibrational layers within the scientific recordings of a killer whale at the melting ice caps in Antarctica & found within those layers some surprising results.

click here to listen

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

Cheryl is a freelance Arts Associate for the Arts Council of Wales. Her role this year has seen her join the co-design
planning group for Climate Justice & support other artists as a mentor/assesor for Creative Steps & Create funding.

Arts Council of Wales Website

Sea Whisperer ...

Cheryl's research into notating the visualisation of nature sounds came as an AHA moment when 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 a wave in slow motion during high tide. For Cheryl, it sounded like the morning 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

Tackling the Climate
& Nature Emergencies

Cheryl is an Associate Artist with the Arts Council of Wales & The Centre of Alternative Technology as part of a codesign group working towards a new strategy to tackle the climate & nature emergencies. Collaborating with CAT, 'The Strategy for Climate Justice and the Arts, commissioned by Arts Council of Wales in partnership with Natural Resources Wales, addresses issues such as using the arts to connect people with the nature and climate emergencies and the support that is needed for artists and arts organisations to minimise the environmental impact of creating art. Crucially, the Strategy will provide a roadmap for the arts in Wales to make maximum progress towards key environmental issues including reducing the carbon footprint, preserving nature and biodiversity and meeting Welsh Government targets of a carbon neutral public sector by 2030 and a net zero Wales by 2050.' ACW 2023

Photo: National Theatre Wales Egin: Llun/Image Steve Peake. Artist - Vikram Iyengar

IMAGINING OUR FUTURE

Cheryl was invited to take part in 'Imagining Our Future - Conversations on the Arts in Wales' - a 3 day event organised by the Arts Council of Wales. In preparation, she was commissioned to engage with a thought provoking exercise devised by internationally acclaimed performance artist & curator, Marc Rees, evoking a personal perspective regarding climate justice in the Now & for the future. Joining Cheryl were Vikram Iyengar, a dancer & choreographer from the Pickle Factory in India & London based Multidisciplinary artist, Ffion Campbell-Davies. After the film showing, all 3 Artists sat on a panel & responded to questions about how environmental action & the climate crisis embed within their practice. The response to the films & conversation was such, that the Arts Council of Wales are planning to exhibit them further.

#futureartswales

#PethauBychain
@ Wales Arts International

Cheryl's digital poem 'Bard Beneath the Bark', commissioned for the Disabled People's Cultural & International Manifesto, is currently being exhibited by Wales Arts International as a Case Study for a more equal Wales; part of #PethauBychain curated by acclaimed immersive artist Marc Rees, #PethauBychain is a campaign to connect the cultural sector with the 7 goals of the Future Generations Act for a more prosperous, resilient, equal, healthier, cohesive, vibrant & globally responsible Wales.

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. 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. Bard Beneath the Bark opened the launch, which live streamed into 8 different countries.

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 addressing how artists use art as a tool for highlighting Climate Emergency. 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. In addition her photograph of Coed Felenrhyd Rainforest became the title image for the debate.

Everything Change

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. During COP26, the Everything Change Team collated & published the work from the event. Cheryl's commission can be seen in the link opposite, as part of Changing Justice.

Community Sound Art

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. In addition, Sound Memories Radio won an Excellence in Digital Media Award from the Celebration of Arts & Culture. Throughout the pandemic, Sound Memories quickly became an inspirational online resource, bringing the virtual outdoors to the older community, through partnership working with older people themselves, & the organisations that support them. Click the photograph tobe taken to the radio website for more details.

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