Klangwelt 
Kreis Steinfurt

Klangwelt Kreis Steinfurt (Soundscapes of the Steinfurt District) is a transdisciplinary art project that explores the topographical, local and historical identity of the Steinfurt district. Through engagement with its 24 municipalities and in close collaboration with local residents, a distinctive soundscape was developed for each municipality. 

In The Decay of Lying, Oscar Wilde notes that London fog was only truly perceived once it had been painted by the Impressionists. In his view, it is art that enables people to become conscious of their surroundings. The core idea of the project is therefore not to add something to a place or to set something against it, but to view what already exists from new perspectives, thereby sharpening our sensitivity and awareness of the environment. 

The aim was to distil a distinctive soundscape from each municipality – one that tells a story. These soundscapes focus on the people who live there, their language, traditions and leisure activities; they translate buildings and objects into sound and shape a new auditory experience from nature and technology. The selection and composition of the soundscapes from the 24 municipalities were carefully coordinated in order to assemble the diverse acoustic landscape of the Steinfurt district into an overarching sonic composition. This allows for both overlaps and contrasts and is characteristic of the district as a whole. 

The results were presented selectively at chosen sites – the Eiskeller Altenberge, Gravenhorster Popcorn at DA, the Kunsthaus, and the Ochtrup Nightingale in St Mary’s Church – as site-specific sound-space interventions. Ultimately, they are brought together in filmic form as 24 audiovisual interweavings of the locations, opening up new interfaces of perception. 

The project understands itself as a process-oriented survey and as an individual and transdisciplinary exploration of the “acoustic DNA” of the Steinfurt district. This specially developed website accompanies the project as a platform for communication, information and participation. Alongside information and background material on the recording locations in each municipality, it brings together texts, artistic works and reflections that offer insight while inviting audiences to explore and experience the Klangwelt Kreis Steinfurt more deeply.