NFSA Award for Sound Heritage
Friday 30 April 2010
The Award recognises the importance of sound heritage by celebrating the achievements of a person who has made a substantial contribution to the preservation, survival and recognition of sound heritage.
This contribution can take a number of different forms:
• contribution to greater public recognition of the value of sound heritage
• technical innovation supporting preservation and dissemination of sound heritage
• scholarship, research and publication in the field of sound heritage
• commercial presentation and publication of heritage sound
• artistic achievement drawing on or informed by sound heritage
• advocacy, sponsorship and/or fundraising in support of sound heritage.
The Award is inspired by Fanny Cochrane Smith, an Indigenous Tasmanian
woman who recorded songs and stories in 1899 and again in 1903 as
part of her lifelong dedication to preserving the culture of her people. The
importance of these recordings is recognised by their inclusion on the
NFSA’s Sounds of Australia registry of recorded sound.
Fanny Cochrane Smith was proud of her Indigenous identity but also moved with confidence in the European world. By making recordings with Horace Watson of the Royal Society, she has left us an invaluable legacy in the form of sound using what was, at that time, state of the art technology.
Dr Karl Neuenfeldt, 2010 receipient
Dr Karl Neuenfeldt is an Associate Professor in Cultural Studies and Communication at the School of Arts and Creative Enterprise, Central Queensland University (Bundaberg Campus). Karl’s current research interests are music of Indigenous people, recording studio practice, and industrial, environmental and socio–cultural sound scapes.
Along with his extensive academic career, Karl is a professional musician and has performed in major music festivals and events both locally and internationally.
Karl has made a substantial contribution to the collection, preservation and dissemination of Torres Strait culture, through his work as a sound engineer, field recordist, oral historian, author and musicologist.
Karl is perhaps best known for his ARIA award winning work with Henry ‘Seaman’ Dan, the Torres Strait elder and former pearl diver. This partnership has resulted in five albums on CD including Follow the Sun, the debut album released in 2000 and the winner of the first NFSA National Folk Recording Award; Perfect Pearl the winner of ARIA’s Best World Music Album of 2004, and Sailing Home, released in 2009 and winner of the ARIA Best World Music Album in that year.
Karl has also been a strong supporter of the work of the NFSA, including assisting in developing a discography of Torres Strait music; conducting and recording oral histories with Torres Strait musicians; and supporting NFSA projects to identify at risk audiovisual materials in the Torres Strait and Northern Queensland.
To find out more about the recipient of the Inaugral NFSA Cochrane Smith Award for Sound Heritage, Dr Karl Neuenfeldt, visit the NFSA blog.
