We are delighted to welcome back our new bi-monthly series of communal listening session brought to you and curated by Sound Art Brighton.
Listen Club #37 – hosted by Abbas Zahedi.
Abbas Zahedi (b. 1984) is a dissociative realist, spawned and raised in Ladbroke Grove, where he still lives and works from h( )me*
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* a place where people care for your absence; or as they say in Farsi: جایی که جات خالیست
Zahedi is a British-Iranian artist whose work often takes the form of interventions which create conditions for shared experiences and communal reflection. His practice is socially-engaged, working with communities to understand systems of care, especially grief, and he is known for his meaningful social programmes which run alongside his exhibitions. His work is informed by his background as a medic with psychiatric training, making links between the sterility of white cube gallery spaces with the medical spaces of his past. Sound is an important part of the artist’s practice, harnessing sound technologies and custom instruments to interact with, and comment on, the infrastructure of spaces. Zahedi’s installations often integrate on-going support groups where participants can gather to listen communally and share experiences of loss.
Recent presentations include:
Ouranophobia 47051 (2026; Manifesto 16, Duisburg): an acoustic sound installation constructed from orphan pipes salvaged from damaged and disused pipe organs across Europe. Dozens of discarded fragments are powered by a pneumatic system and create a collective hum. The work is currently on show at Manifesta 16, Duisburg, Germany.
EX/IT: LIFT (2026; Douglas Hyde Gallery of Contemporary Art, Dublin): a collection of participatory sound sculptures drawing inspiration from prehistoric warning systems, ritualistic self-flagellation devices, and the mechanical rhythms of industrial labour processes. These works recontextualise and reappropriate various methodologies of sound production to reflect upon the hegemonic power of institutional and bureaucratic systems.
Begin Again (2025; Tate Modern, London) a network of instruments and playback devices made from recycled materials which are plugged into Tate Modern’s utility pipes and deeper architecture. Zahedi invites visitors to tune in to the site, engaging in what he describes as ‘seismic resonance’ – a dynamic interplay between sound, body and space.
Image: Abbas Zahedi – Ouranophobia 47051, 2026. Installation view: acoustic sound installation, found organ pipes, modular metal stands, repurposed street cabinets. © Abbas Zahedi and Manifesta 16 Ruhr. Photo by Ivan Erofeev.
https://www.instagram.com/abbzah/
About Listen Club
A programme of unusual sound-works, soundscape composition, and music from the present and the past. The 2026-2027 season has been curated by Joshua Le Gallienne.
Listen Club is a monthly event where we can come together to listen to sound and music with the possibility of sharing impressions and casual discussion afterwards. Listen Club hopes to provide a counterpoint to the quick paced personal consumption of music with a more patient shared experience; a deep listen, together, in order to foster community.
Each event is hosted by an artist who will guide the experience – briefly discussing the details of the selections and providing background on the music and artists chosen. We aim to present a variety of styles and listening experiences that may include anything from long duration singular sound works to a series of work on a particular theme. On average we will listen together for 45min to an hour, with time for discussion and conversation afterwards.
About Sound Art Brighton
Sound Art Brighton is an independent initiative that celebrates the presence of sound art in Brighton, UK. Building on the wide interest this art form has attracted in the city, we promote the diversity of sound in its intrinsic relations with other arts and the everyday. We reach out to all practitioners and facilitators engaged in this hybrid art form and who contribute in their sonic ways to Brighton’s urban environment and communal life. Our activities include city-wide events, a partner network, an interactive website and research projects.