Listening to the LES is a new media art project at P.S. 140 with special education students in grades 5 and 6. It is led by Robert Sember, a member of the sound art collective Ultra-Red. The project introduces students to inquiry-based art practices and builds a shared historical awareness of the fabric of the city and the lives of those who live there. Students use oral history, site recordings, and archival materials to explore their Lower East Side neighborhood.
At the heart of the Listening to the LES project are our shared connections to place and community. In 2024/2025 we decided as a group to name our exploration What Are The Sounds Of Home? Maps are silent about the lives of the millions of refugees who each year journey great distances in search of safety.For more than a century, millions of people fleeing war, violence, poverty, and environmental destruction have made new homes in the Lower East Side. With this history in mind, we listened and created sound recordings, collages, drawings and ceramic sculptures to hold memories held by the neighborhood. As we imagined the sounds of people making journeys and finding new homes, we created new forms of mapmaking to remind us to celebrate their courage and beauty.
– Robert Sember, Teaching Artist
