9782889157327
Distributed for EPFL Press
Tuning In
Acoustics of Emotion, Sound Archives, and Contemporary Aesthetics
A catalog published in conjunction with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum’s exhibition on the power of the human voice.
What sounds of humanitarian action do we preserve? How does a voice convey emotion? Who speaks and who has the right to be heard? What role does music play in the humanitarian sphere? In 2024 and 2025, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum hosted “Tuning In—Acoustique de l'émotion,” an exhibition featuring sounds from the audio archives of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement alongside major works and newly commissioned pieces of contemporary art.
In our daily lives, we tend to experience humanitarian action through our eyes rather than our ears. Images play a key role in shaping our perception of conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Yet sounds—and voices in particular—are just as important in helping us interpret and make sense of humanitarian issues past and present. Through this interdisciplinary and experimental exhibition, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum seeks to unearth and highlight hidden gems from a unique collection of sound recordings.
What sounds of humanitarian action do we preserve? How does a voice convey emotion? Who speaks and who has the right to be heard? What role does music play in the humanitarian sphere? In 2024 and 2025, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum hosted “Tuning In—Acoustique de l'émotion,” an exhibition featuring sounds from the audio archives of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement alongside major works and newly commissioned pieces of contemporary art.
In our daily lives, we tend to experience humanitarian action through our eyes rather than our ears. Images play a key role in shaping our perception of conflicts, natural disasters, and other emergencies. Yet sounds—and voices in particular—are just as important in helping us interpret and make sense of humanitarian issues past and present. Through this interdisciplinary and experimental exhibition, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum seeks to unearth and highlight hidden gems from a unique collection of sound recordings.
Table of Contents
• Pascal Hufschmid, Foreword
• Elisa Rusca, Introduction – Tuning In. Acoustics of Emotion, Sound Archives, and Contemporary Aesthetics
• Senam Okudzeto, Regeneration and Regulation of Emotions
• Sarah Joy Maddeaux, “Grassroots support… to help achieve health for all”: How the Red Cross Radio Prize exemplified the local action, global reach aims of the IFRC
• Alain Dufaux, Alain Chardonnens, Preservation of Swiss Cultural Heritage: Interest and Contributions from Academic Institutions
• Manuela Filippa, When Voices Convey Emotions
• Christophe Fellay, Performing Sound Archives: Past and Future in the Present Moment
• Elisa Rusca, Sound is Always More
• Didier Grandjean, Engaging Emotion: The Roles of Semantic and Prosodic Expression in Humanitarian Narratives
• Hafsa Alkoudahiri, To Hear and to be Heard
• Artworks and artists bios:
o Manal AlDowayan
o Betty Danon
o Marco Donnarumma
o Gregor Hildebrandt
o William Kentridge
o Christine Sun Kim
o Thomas Mader
o Piero Mottola
o Julia Scher
o Dana Whabira
• The sound and the archive. Conversation between Sabine Haberler Kreis, Alain Dufaux, Didier Grandjean, moderated by Elisa Rusca
• Paul-Henry Arni, When Music When To War.
• Elisa Rusca, Introduction – Tuning In. Acoustics of Emotion, Sound Archives, and Contemporary Aesthetics
• Senam Okudzeto, Regeneration and Regulation of Emotions
• Sarah Joy Maddeaux, “Grassroots support… to help achieve health for all”: How the Red Cross Radio Prize exemplified the local action, global reach aims of the IFRC
• Alain Dufaux, Alain Chardonnens, Preservation of Swiss Cultural Heritage: Interest and Contributions from Academic Institutions
• Manuela Filippa, When Voices Convey Emotions
• Christophe Fellay, Performing Sound Archives: Past and Future in the Present Moment
• Elisa Rusca, Sound is Always More
• Didier Grandjean, Engaging Emotion: The Roles of Semantic and Prosodic Expression in Humanitarian Narratives
• Hafsa Alkoudahiri, To Hear and to be Heard
• Artworks and artists bios:
o Manal AlDowayan
o Betty Danon
o Marco Donnarumma
o Gregor Hildebrandt
o William Kentridge
o Christine Sun Kim
o Thomas Mader
o Piero Mottola
o Julia Scher
o Dana Whabira
• The sound and the archive. Conversation between Sabine Haberler Kreis, Alain Dufaux, Didier Grandjean, moderated by Elisa Rusca
• Paul-Henry Arni, When Music When To War.