4 June 2026 - University of Antwerp Mesodrome
In the framework of the art project "Pantha Rhei on the Rhein", funded by the Swiss Pro Helvetia - Arts Research Council, an immersive audio listening session will be held at the Mesodrome aquatic experimental facility. The event is part of the Art & Ecology initiative hosted by the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts.
Join us for a unique sonic experience inside the Mesodrome, one of the world’s largest river simulation facilities, where the River Rhine will be narrated through three commissioned radio plays by Pablo Diserens (CH), Diana Duta (RO/BE), and Flurina Mia Häberli (CH). Visitors can wander the Mesodrome as each radio play is broadcast over wireless silent disco headsets.
Conceived and organized by Dr. Haseeb Ahmed (US/BE/CA), and supported by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council. Listeners hear from the Rock Ptarmigan birds whose glacial habitat disappears into the headwaters of the Rhine, listeners are then lured by the mythological song of the sirens of Lorelei, only to be inundated by aquatic noise pollution near Rotterdam’s port at the end of the Maas-Rhine delta.
Rooted in Heraclitus’ dictum “everything flows,” the project asks how we might read the river in ways that provide new perspectives on the urgent ecological challenges major waterways face today.
Programme
- 17:45 Shuttle Departs Antwerp Berchem Station (Meeting point outside the main entrance)
- 18:30 Welcome and drinks
- 19:00 Introduction
- 19:30 Immersive Listening Session
- 20:15 Informal discussion and reception
- 21:00 End
Practical
- Location: The exact location of the mesodrome: 51°09'19.3"N 4°24'30.2"E
Universiteitsbaan, Wilrijk. Follow P4 signs to parking P4. from there, follow the Mesodrome signs. - Registration: free but necessary. Please use the red button below.