First Breath with NYX

To mark the opening of V&A East Museum, the experimental vocal collective NYX responds to the Why We Make galleries through a series of acoustic vocal interventions unfolding across multiple levels of the building.  Moving between solo voices, small ensembles and roaming performers, visitors are invited to sound the new museum into being. 

Conceived as a live, site-specific work, First Breath responds directly to the galleries’ central proposition: making as a powerful, collective act capable of shaping how we live, care, dissent and imagine futures. Directed by Sian O'Gorman, Philippa Neels and Imogen Knight, voice and body move together through the building, tracing cycles of ascent and descent, gathering and dispersal, stillness and release.

Through an immersive sonic journey afromerm, Katya Barton, Rhianna Compton, Ushara Dilrukshan, Bones Tan Jones, Sian O'Gorman, Rachel Oyawale, AK Patterson, Plumm, and  Monique Sallé invite you to explore the human voice as a primary technology, one of the earliest tools through which people have told stories, passed knowledge, expressed belief, organised resistance and cared for one another.

Alongside these musical activations, NYX, Trans Chorus, and creative collaborators will host participatory workshops exploring vocal embodiment, intuitive singing and collective drone practice. As the sun begins to set, the day gathers on the top floor, and a Drone Circle begins. You can join in, move through it, or simply listen as voices build and the space fills with sound. 

What begins as a breath becomes a vibration, then a presence, carried across bodies and across the building itself. A shared beginning held in common, discovering why we make, together.

Read more about First Breath here: Sounding a polyvocal museum into being with NYX • V&A Blog

PROGRAMME:

12:00-13:30 
Vocal Embodiment with NYX

Event Space

Join NYX’s Sian O’Gorman and Imogen Knight for a 90-minute workshop exploring voice, body and presence. Through simple guided exercises, participants will work with sound and movement as they emerge in the moment. No experience required. Book your free place here: Vocal Embodiment with NYX - V&A East Workshop at V&A East Museum · V&A

14:30-16:00
Voice on Canvas

Event Space

Explore the relationship between sound and image through playful exercises in voice, drawing and improvisation. Led by afromerm and Rhianna Compton, this session invites participants to create and activate graphic scores collectively. Open to all ages and experience levels. Book your free place here: Voice On Canvas - V&A East Workshop at V&A East Museum · V&A

17:00-18:30
Claiming Sonic Space with Trans Chorus

Event Space

Led by Trans Chorus as part of First Breath this workshop invites trans and gender non-conforming people to explore voice, movement and shared presence through singing and improvisation. Book your free place here: Sharing Sonic Space with Trans Chorus - V&A East Workshop at V&A East Museum · V&A

20:00 -21:00
Drone Circle
Event Space

 Join NYX and collaborators for a shared act of listening and sounding. This participatory Drone Circle invites you to take part through voice or listening, as a collective sound is created together in real time. Book your free place here: Drone Circle - V&A East Special event at V&A East Museum · V&A

All workshops have limited capacity and booking is encouraged. We will welcome walk-ups if places become available.
Filming and photography will take place at this event.
If you have any access requirements, please let us know in advance by emailing accessibility@vam.ac.uk