Viva Dean - Kankyō Ongaku: Donegal (2024)

Kankyō Ongaku: Donegal was inspired by the Japanese genre of Kankyō Ongaku (environmental music), which emerged in the 1980s in response to rapid urbanisation and economic growth. Regional Cultural Centre Director Jeremy Howard invited five leading sound artists to create new works responding to the Centre’s contemporary architecture. These compositions formed a site-specific soundtrack for the building’s shared spaces, activated during late-night exhibition and event openings throughout 2024.

Kankyō Ongaku shared conceptual and structural affinities with minimalism in modern art and contemporary design, offering immersive soundscapes tailored to public environments.

Viva Dean is a sound artist and mechanical engineer. She recently released the experimental electronic EP I Live Here under the moniker Brave Young Soldier, in collaboration with Brian McNamara, as well as music under the alias To Apeiron on GASH TRAX VOL.2 (Gash Collective).

In 2022, Viva founded Synthesize_Her_, an initiative offering electronics and sound technology workshops for girls and gender minorities. Her work supports young people in developing creative confidence with audio tools through communal, hands-on experiences. She has collaborated with organisations including Dublin Modular, Drop Everything, Gash Collective, Make-Create-Innovate, and Noise Music.

This project was supported by The Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media through the Late-Night Events Pilot Programme.