New Adventures in Sound Art, the non-profit operator of the one-of-a-kind NAISA Gallery and Café in South River, is proud to announce its 25th Anniversary edition of The Deep Wireless Festival of Radio and Transmission Art.
The Deep Wireless Festival invites audiences to explore the creative potential of radio and the electromagnetic spectrum through an interactive exhibition, performance, artist talks, online radio shows and a compilation album of experimental radio art works.
“Rooted in the belief that radio is both an artistic medium and a community connector,” NAISA Artistic Director Darren Copeland says that “Deep Wireless highlights the ways radio & transmission art can challenge conventions, amplify marginalized voices, and inspire immersive new forms of listening. The festival will also launch NAISA’s theme for 2026 – Sound Culture – with works that nurture dialogue around the evolving role of radio in contemporary culture.”
The interactive sound sculpture Material Transmissions by Vancouver sound artist Anju Singh is one example which opens with an artist talk by Singh at 7 pm on January 8th, and the exhibit continues through to March 30. This interactive sound sculpture connects the sounds of hymn-based drones from temples with a sewing machine, and other industrial materials found in garment factories.
Anju Singh explains, “My interest in these sounds began with my experience of hearing hymns in temples as forms of music and then feeling there was a strong relationship between those drone sounds and machine noise, often droning and hypnotic in nature.” So why is it that hymn-based drones are considered music while machine drones are considered purely noise?That question led her to go deeper into understanding her aesthetic preference for noise-based textures.
On February 21st at NAISA, Aliyah Aziz performs her work Sandpaper Hammock in-person and online that starts at 7 pm at NAISA. In her performance she will be wearing custom-made gloves that will draw out electromagnetic sounds from old CRT monitors, a camera, and other electric signals. She will mix and layer these sounds with spoken word, electronic pedals and loopers. There is a line in the text of her piece that she repeats, “Just because you cannot hear it, that doesn’t mean it is not there.” After repeating that line, she then slices it up and distorts it into a stuttering rhythm that is woven into a sonic tapestry of radio static, video signal, feedback, and electromagnetic frequencies. To her, all sounds “have a voice.” That concept underscores the Sound Culture ethos of the 2026 edition of Deep Wireless.
In addition to these highlights the festival also includes a sound art jam that will be part of NAISA’s Art’s Birthday celebrations on January 17th at 1 pm. NAISA invites members audience members to bring an object from home that makes an interesting sound, or one that can be used to activate another sound, such as the strings and decaying surfaces of The Decomposing Piano that is outside at NAISA. All ages and abilities are welcome. And of course there will be cake!
There is a lot of online content from Deep Wireless Festivals past and present that can help sustain those quiet winter nights. NAISA’s 20th Radio Art Compilation Album of radio art works will be released on deepwireless.ca in February and will include artists’ works that use the theme Sound Culture to draw out stories and personal reflections as well as explore hums and mysterious sounds that typically lurk in the background of everyday attention.
Finally, to dig further into radio art, the monthly Making Waves radio show and podcast will feature stories about the artists and their works that are featured in Deep Wireless. Some of those stories will also appear on NAISATube, NAISA’s YouTube channel, as well as in the NAISA Sound Bytes on Substack.
New Adventures in Sound Art is a non-profit organization that presents year-round performances and installations spanning the entire spectrum of sound art. NAISA is partially funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts. NAISA would also like to thank Charles Street Video, Reuten Construction, and Warbler’s Roost for their sponsorship support of this year’s 25th anniversary edition of the Deep Wireless Festival of Radio & Transmission Art.
What: Deep Wireless Festival of Radio and Transmission Art
Where: NAISA North Media Arts Centre, 313 Highway 124, South River
When: January 8 to March 30, 2026
Cost: Admission by Donation for in-person exhibition
$15 admission for performance
FREE for online album, NAISA Radio stream and Sound Art Jam
