Why Are We All Too Familiar With Headphones Attached to a Wall? (Or, a Brief History of Sound-Art Curating)

From the 1960s through the 1980s, an ever-expanding exploration of sound occurred within the visual arts field, helping give birth to Sound Art (and its exhibition) as a unique genre. The sum of Sound Art shows has grown exponentially over time, reaching into major Western art institutions and beyond. Lending such space and resources to this category, and in such a focused manner, has invited possibilities for curators to develop more substantial investigations into a diverse range of rapidly emerging sonic practices. This essay focuses on the influence curators have had on the production, positioning and reception of Sound Art.