Dear Sonic Citizens, every September we organize a day for the people of Malmö and our international visitors to discover some of the fantastic places and projects within this unique area. Open your doors, open your minds. The event takes place at Hypnos Theatre and throughout the Cultural Sound Zone; if you would like to propose an activity or a space to use, please get in touch—or stop by our open house, held from 2 PM to 6 PM on the last Tuesday of every month, located above Crime City Rollers at Kopparbergsgatan 8.

SONIC CITY ARKIV

2026

Our keynote speakers was Kate Lacey from the university of sussex and our keynote listeners were Andreas Schönström (S) & (MP) alongside Mila Stanojevic of Folkets Skafferi & Yamama Younis of Lyktan.There were workshops with the Shortwave Collective, Laura Balboa and Lilian Campesato and new works from >BLOOM<, jinga and Agnes Yeo.

Programme, reports and documentation, 25 & 26 September 2026

2025

Our main speaker was Brandon LaBelle of the Listening Biennial we also heard from with Janne Grönholm (MP) & Pierre Alatbeh (Ailé House) and we experienced new works from Jan-Inge Ljungberg & Duncan Geere.

Programme, reports and documentation, 2025

SONIC CITIZENS PROGRAMME, 25 & 26 September 2026

Friday 25th September
Various venues including Hypnos Theatre, Blå Huset, Studio 8:an

Morning:
09:30 Registration and coffee at Hypnos, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15
10:00 Welcome to Sonic Citizens (ENG)
10:30 Keynote Presentation: Prof. Kate Lacey (Professor of Media History and Theory, Sussex University, UK) (ENG)

11:30-13:00 Lunch

Afternoon:
13:00 Panel: What's the future of the culture sound zone? (SWE)
With Andreas Schönström (S) (Ordförande Tekniska nämnden), Stefana Hoti (MP) (Ordförande Stadsbyggnandsnämden), Iain Dace (NGBG Association), Yamama Younis (Lyktan Arabic Culture Association), Mila Stanojevic (Folkets Skafferi).

14:15 - 17:15 Workshops and Installations:

1) Shortwave Collective: Build your own radio receiver (ENG) Come build a simple DIY radio called an Open Wave-Receiver with Shortwave Collective! No experience necessary, bring along any flat objects (like a book) or bits of metal (like a tent peg) that you’d like to see in a radio circuit.

2) Laura Balboa and Lilian Campesato: Sounding & Listening to Unnoticed Borders (ENG) A listening walk to sense-think and share experiences about the established border and liminal space surrounding the culture sound zone.

3) NGBG Association: "Follow the Dragon's head" Tour: Listening to the People, Places and Particularities of the Culture Sound Zone (guided by some of those that know it best! ENG/SWE). Join us to meet the people, organizations and places that make the culture sound zone, and experience its sonic ecologies together with us.

4) breadfactory: >BLOOM< (Sound and Light Installation, opens 11:00, closes 20:00) >BLOOM< is an exploration of light, geometry, and sound, where the physical properties of objects become something greater, something that surrounds us all.

5) "Triple Threat": Palina Piakarskaya, Behnaz Alebouyeh and Agnes Yeo, Curated with Karen Svensson at Blå Huset NGBG 15.

Evening:
17:30 – 18:30 Nablus Palestinian Culture Association: A performance of Palestinian Dance, Fashion and Sounds (ENG/ARA/SWE)

18:00 Exhibitions in 8'än, på stäppen & i graffiti hangaren hela helg, med 30 konstnär från CFUK and Jinga/Paint Bay open as part of Malmö Gallerihelg (Studio 8:an)

18:00 Iconic Boomer Band, Det spelar ingen roll vad du kallar det - svänger det så spelar vi det.

18:30 Food Truck on Stäppen: Falafel Streetfood, Malmös favourite dish.

18:40 Teranga Music Collective: Mama Afro Drum Circle & Outernational SpaceJam (ENG)

20:00 Bad People Good Animals (ENG/SWE) The mysterious masked collective that specializes in performing art and sculpting sound and Afterparty

20:30 "Groove Awakening" by Firadelic (ENG)
DJ set that gently carries the experience from deep listening into movement, blending organic grooves, psychedelic textures and warm rhythms to awaken the body and invite everyone to dance freely together.

Saturday 26th September
Various venues including Musikhuset Bullret, Blå Huset, Studio 8:an

Morning:
10:00 Welcome and Breakfast

10:30 "The Listening Pith" with Suji (ENG)
Suji will curate a soft intimate space to guide you into an immersive sound experience exploring the inner journey and influence of music, through meditative listening. An introduction to the artists and their influences followed by a 45min ambient and orchestral DJ set.

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

Afternoon:
13:30 – 16:00 Workshops and Installations

1) Teranga Music Collective: Collaborative Recording Session (ENG/SWE) Using musical instruments and some of the sounds and voices collected during Friday’s guided listening tours, join Teranga Music Collective to create and record new music that captures the sonic ecologies of the culture sound zone. No previous musical experience necessary. But if you have the skills then bring them with you!

2) Gallerihelg: CFUK and Jinga/Paintbay exhibitions at Studio 8:an (Kopparbergsgatan 8)

3) breadfactory: > BLOOM < (Sound and Light Installation, open 12:00-16:00). >BLOOM< is an exploration of light, geometry, and sound, where the physical properties of objects become something greater, something that surrounds us all.

4) Fuxia: "What is Lost is Lost Forever", Eliyah Mesayer and Ihsan Saad Ihsan Tahir, curated with Mariam Elnozahy at NGBG 19.

5) "Triple Threat": Palina Piakarskaya, Behnaz Alebouyeh and Agnes Yeo, Curated with Karen Svensson at Blå Huset NGBG 15.

Evening:

16:00 – 18:00 Listening in Solidarity

16:15 Arab Women’s Union - Fyra kvinnor på en stationsperrong (Four Women on a Station Platform). Members of the Arab Women’s Union present a new theatre production co-written and performed by its members, with writer and director Mohammad Sahli (SWE).

Four women from different backgrounds meet on a station platform. The chance encounter sparks a conversation about migration, identity, belonging, discrimination, family, work and the opportunity to influence the society in which one lives. From four different perspectives, it explores the obstacles and opportunities that women encounter in Swedish society – and how a sense of community and solidarity can emerge when people begin to listen to each other.

17:00 Teranga Music Collective: Playback (ENG/SWE) A chance to listen to the music created during the collaborative recording session earlier in the day.

17:30 Jinga's Sonic Quizzy: Results and Grand Prize Draw (ENG/SWE) A chance to listen to the music created during the collaborative recording session earlier in the day.

18:00 Wrap up, thanks and see you next year!

Låt oss göra lite ljud!

PROGRAMME 2025

The day is structured in three sessions, and you can sign up for one, two or all three. For morning participants, lunch is included.

 
MORNING

N.1 - Hypnos Theatre, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15

09:00 – 09:30 Coffee and chat
09:30 – 10:00 Welcome and presentation from Janne Grönholm (MP)
10:00 – 11:00 Panel discussion on sound, listening and social change
11:00 – 11:20 Break
11:20 – 12:05 Keynote talk from Brandon La Belle (with Q&A)
12:05 – 12:15 Morning wrap-up and intro to afternoon session

 
LUNCH

N.2 -Gallery 8:n, Kopparbergsgatan 8

12:00-13:30 lunch at - Raleigh's Grub food truck.

 
AFTERNOON

listening encounters at multiple locations across the Culture Sound Zone - See map below.

13:30 – 13:45 Introduction to afternoon programme (N.2 - Gallery 8:an, Kopparbergsgatan)

13:45 – 15:30 Listening encounters on the theme of Listening across Borders

• Short films and sound works about music in prisons from the Prisons of Note project, University of Oslo (N.1 - Hypnos Theatre, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15)
• A Symphony for Bureaucracy by Duncan Geere and Luisa Carbonelli (N.1 - Blå Huset, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15)
• Collaborative recording session by Teranga Music Collective (N.6 - Bullret, Västanförsgatan 30, Room 15)
• The Disoriented City by Alex Weisend, Sound & Art Installations by Cecilia Wendt, Annelie Nilsson & Maria Karlsson. (Gallery 8:an, Kopparbergsgatan 8)
• Street Art live painting by CFUK (N.2 - Stäppen, round the corner from Kopparbergsgatan 8)
• Sonic Adventure PlayFor kids and families! Create low-fi instruments and make noise at Guldängens bygglek. Open between 14 and 17:00 (N.7 - Uddeholmsgatan)

15:30 - 16:30 Palestinian Fashion Show by Nablus Association and Lyktan Association, with live music. (N.1 - Hypnos Theatre, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15)

16:30 - 17:00 Closing discussion and a look ahead to the evening programme (N.1 - Hypnos Theatre, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15)

17:00 AFTERNOON SESSION CLOSES.
 

 
EVENING

open house at multiple locations around the Culture Sound Zone - See map below.

17:00 - 18:00 Introduction to the evening programme with drinks and snacks. Playback of the Teranga Music Collective collaborative recording. Rehearsal room performances from Bullret bands . Drum making workshop, Teranga Music Collective (N.6 - Bullret, Västanförsgatan 30)

17:00 – 22:00 Open House events

• Rehearsal room performances from local bands (N.6 - Bullret, Västanförsgatan 30, until kl.20:00)
• Drum making workshop, Teranga Music Collective (N.6 - Bullret, Västanförsgatan 30, until kl.20:00)
• Open Studio at Paint Bay hosted by artist Jan-Inge Ljungberg (N.4 - Norbergsgatan 24)
• A Listening Sewing Circle with Luisa Carbonelli, with sound installation by Duncan Geere (N.1 - Lararium, Norra Grängesbergsgatan 15)
• An evening of food, folk and music, hosted by local cultural organisations at Föreningsaltanen (N.5 - Norra Grängesbergsgatan 17)
• The Disoriented City by Alex Weisend, Sound & Art Installations by Cecilia Wendt, Annelie Nilsson & Maria Karlsson(Gallery 8:an, Kopparbergsgatan 8)
• Conversations over coffee (N.3 - Ailé House, Kopparbergsgatan 29)
• Skåne Rolle - Longboarding Tryouts (N.2 - Crime City Rollers, Kopparbergsgatan 8)