I am sounding a sacred space is a sound performance by Zain Alam featuring recitations of the azaan (Islamic call to prayer) distilled into pure tone, as extension of and departure from Alvin Lucier’s I Am Sitting in a Room. With the participation of vocalists Nadine Murshid and Tanaïs, from varying traditions of melody (and ma'qam) across the Islamic world, the artist asks how sound can convey cultural knowledge despite the fixity of text and create sacred space in the process.

We are seeking out those comfortable with reciting the azaan and of varying cultural, linguistic, and spiritual origins. Backgrounds and communities underrepresented in recitations of the azaan are particularly encouraged to apply. Honoraria will be provided to participating vocalists.

For those interested, fill out the form by Saturday, November 15th, 2024!

The collaborative sound performance with the selected vocalists and Zain Alam will take place on Saturday, December 14th, 2024.

Zain Alam is an artist and musician of Indian-Pakistani origin based in Brooklyn, NY. Described as “a unique intersection, merging the cinematic formality of Bollywood and geometric repetition of Islamic art,” his recording project Humeysha began during his year working as an oral historian for the 1947 Partition Archive. His work is a project of translation using contemporary pop forms, found sound, and oral history as means of investigating one’s position in an outside tradition or community.