UWB Doctoral student will present The Sounds of Krakow at the French festival

Students Achievements Science and research

A doctoral student from the Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, impressed the jury at the PAYSAGES | COMPOSÉS festival in Grenoble with his multimedia project combining image, text, and sound – and won the main award.

Doctoral student Barry Yuk Bun Wan from the Department of Music Education and Culture at the Faculty of Education, University of West Bohemia in Pilsen (FPE UWB), impressed the international jury with his work Sonic Cartography. Kraków – Sound as Pigment. The piece was selected as the winning entry and will be presented at the 5th edition of the PAYSAGES | COMPOSÉS – Écologie sonore festival, which will take place this autumn in Grenoble, France. The festival is organized by APNÉES and is considered one of the most important showcases of electroacoustic and acousmatic music.

Electroacoustic music works with electronically transformed sounds to create new soundscapes. Acousmatic music, on the other hand, is listened to without any visual contact with the performer, only through loudspeakers. “The work functions as a personal sound sketchbook of Kraków — not drawn, but audible. I layered and shaped recordings from streets, churches, trams, and forgotten corners of the city using spatial techniques to create a sonic painting full of atmosphere and emotions,” explained the author.

The combination of urban sound recordings and experimental sonic techniques transformed Kraków into a spatial composition that offers listeners an experience of the city’s atmosphere instead of a map. “This recognition confirms that sound is more than just vibration. It can be a medium of storytelling, painting, and cultural dialogue. I hope this work allows listeners to experience the heart of Kraków in a way that transcends geography,” added Barry Yuk Bun Wan.

The presentation of the award-winning piece will take place in Grenoble in the form of an installation. Although the author cannot attend in person, his work will be part of the festival program, which connects concerts, sound walks, conferences, and lectures. “The installation will be presented as a spatial audio piece, played through a multichannel speaker system. This will allow the audience to immerse themselves in the sonic environment and experience the work as if they were inside the sound space,” concluded Barry Yuk Bun Wan.

“It is inspiring to see our doctoral students succeed internationally not only in education but also in art, which is so closely tied to pedagogy,” said Romana Feiferlíková, Head of the Department of Music Education and Culture at FPE UWB. His supervisor, Marie Slavíková, also praised the achievement: “Barry has shown that music can be a bridge between science, creativity, and profound personal experience. His work has rightfully gained recognition in the international context.”

The PAYSAGES | COMPOSÉS festival is regarded as one of the most significant international events at the crossroads of sound art, ecoacoustics, urbanism, and new sound technologies. It brings together artists and researchers who work with soundscapes through conferences, workshops, installations, sound walks, concerts, and performances. This year, it received 258 submissions from 46 countries.

The work was created with the support of the TALENT 2025 university program, funded by the vice-rector for creative activity and doctoral studies at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen.