KeiSie magazine in conversation with Beatie Wolfe
The new digital destination for ethical fashion, health and lifestyle inspiration talk to Beatie Wolfe at her Barbican premiere
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Beatie Wolfe: Creating New Tangible Formats For Music
7 MINUTE READ
November 4, 2019
I do not know how I have only just come across her, but Beatie Wolfe is an incredible creative and innovator who is well accredited for her work. She is a talented musician from South London (now LA based!), who emits a passion for the role of music in medicine and explores how technology can be used for her unconventional ideas in the digital age. Her tangible formats for music have been recognised and celebrated globally; she held a solo exhibition of her ‘world first’ album designs at the V&A Museum and has recently been selected as a UN Women role model for innovation.
After visiting the Barbican in Moorgate for an experiential evening of art, film, live performance and conversation with Beatie Wolfe, we decided to reach out to Beatie herself as we could not wait to find out more about her projects and discuss her upcoming plans for the future.
What inspires your innovative approach to creativity?
Curiosity, passion, intuition and contemplation. It all comes from my great love of records, stories, art forms, creating worlds and the belief that those core human experiences will never go out of fashion, even if the digital era has displaced a lot of them (seemingly) for now. I am inspired by people, whatever their field, whose intention is to leave the world a little better for them having been here. I am also inspired by the Long Now philosophy and since I was a kid always thought about making the best possible work for years to come rather than to satisfy a trend of the day.
Can you tell us a bit more about your ‘From Green to Red’ environmental art piece? How challenging was it to collate 800,000 years of data tracking the impact of human behaviour on the planet? Do you think people understand the matters/message?
‘From Green to Red’ is an environmental protest piece about human impact on the planet, built using 800,000 years of historic data to create a visualization of the CO2 concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere. The title is taken from a song I wrote in 2006 after seeing ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ although I didn’t record the song until many years later as I believed that everyone would see that film and within a year or so we’d be on the right path.
When that didn’t happen and the situation only intensified to a point of being absolutely critical, I wanted to find a way to make people literally see the data differently, so it could communicate where we stand in a way that was both comprehensible but also evocative. So, I shared the idea with The Mill, the amazing VFX company, and we’ve been working on bringing this to life. At the Barbican, I showed a teaser of the project but there’s much more to come and we’ll be doing a talk about it at SXSW’20.
Do you think more can be done to provoke social change, such as climate change, via art, music and technology?
Yes, I believe that is a role that art has always played in our culture and society and should continue to. I feel like the negative aspects of the digital era include the shift of focus onto ourselves as our own idols, the short-termist thinking and also the sheer volume of noise out there.
I believe that art (in the broader sense) has to serve by either making us feel something and reminding us of our humanity and connection to one another, or by expressing something in a way that helps to shift thinking; in the way that sometimes only art can.
The benefits of technology are that we have more access to knowledge than ever before and also more ways of making the impossible possible. So, it’s about being as creative and curious in how we can use these tools to make the most positive impact. And there is no other time than now.
Your ‘Power of Music & Dementia’ project is extremely insightful and hugely positive for those living with dementia. It offers new and wonderful possibilities for dementia care. Were you surprised by the research results or have you always had a strong belief in the power of music?
In many ways I wasn’t surprised as I’ve always been aware of music’s tremendous power but seeing those reactions for myself – particularly given how extreme some of them were – forever imprinted on me and made me 100% certain of the power of music to run incredibly deep (even deeper than we currently realize) as something core to our humanity, our identity, our wellbeing.
Having my own personal experience with music as medicine strengthened my resolve to keep up the work in that space – as what began as a question I asked myself turned into a ground-breaking global study that influenced policy and birthed a charity – but also to apply what I had seen and learnt to everything else I do.
One example of this was realizing that the breakthrough moments that occurred e.g. people transforming from catatonic to dancing or nonverbal to singing happened because of singular focused experiences and not because of an abundance of stimuli. So that is why ceremony has always been, and will continue to be, a key aspect of anything I create or curate.
Also seeing what music can do on the most profound and honest level – bringing people back or unlocking neurological binds when nothing else can – reinforces the value and importance of creating the best art possible. It truly makes you realise that music (and art in general) is much, much more than just entertainment.
It was interesting to find out that you hosted and created a dublab radio show‘Orange Juice for the Ears’ – especially the ‘Health’ and ‘Words’ episodes. What were the main points that you covered about the power of music to heal, connect and restore, as well as the importance of meaningful music journalism?
The idea of the radio show is to look at the music that makes up our DNA by inviting people from all different fields and industries to share some of the music that has imprinted and shaped them over the years, i.e. their “Orange Juice for the Ears.”
I took the title from an Oliver Sacks line about the power of music (also the title of the Barbican documentary about my work) and thought about my own specific key music moments and from that came up with the questions – e.g. the first song that imprinted, the first album that had a big impact, the music you would send into space, the song you’d have at your memorial and the record you’d pass onto your kids. By exploring each guest’s life and musical DNA, it acts as a celebration of the power of music for both the individual and the collective.
All of the guests I’ve had on so far are incredible people doing amazing work, so the show also looks at each of their industries and how they’ve made a lasting impact through their own intentionality.
We would love to discuss the ideas around your next album! Are you exploring a new physical/digital intersection or creating another modern-day equivalent of a vinyl record?
Yes and I am incredibly excited about it. It will be a new way of presenting a record via a secret communications system using code invented by an amazing female pioneer in WW2. I can’t say much more about it at the moment, but it will be unveiled at one of America’s oldest, most prestigious museums. And I’ll be working with my favourite design team, Design I/O.
What do you have planned for the future in terms of stretching the boundaries of the role of a musician? How else are you hoping to add humanistic experiences back into digital communications?
Always and in every way possible. I do have the next few projects mapped out in my mind as there are already in a process of being realised but often I don’t know what’s next until inspiration strikes. In that way all of my projects have been something of a surprise, a detour off the road map. I like to stay open and see what presents itself.
Article by Tess Hardy
Tess is a Fine Art graduate from the University of Lincoln, now based in South London. Due to being highly passionate about the visual arts in all forms, she is eager to build a career in journalism and gain experience in all aspects of the industry, focusing her writing on fashion, culture and lifestyle.
She Innovates interview Beatie Wolfe for a UN Women initiative
Click the link to read She Innovates interview with me for this UN Women initiative
Check out the article here
UN Impossible to Ignore Campaign
Super proud to be 1 of 9 innovators representing the UN Women “Impossible to ignore” She Innovates campaign for #IWD with our portraits appearing all across the 🌍 from Times Square to London Underground. Billboard portrait taken by Ross Harris, awesome NYC shots by Veanne Cao
New York’s World Trade Center
Few of the 300,000 daily commuters to stream through
Every one of Manhattans 3,750 LinkNYC boards
London’s Liverpool Street Station
Manhattans Fulton Station and its 300,000 visitors that day
She Is Now Impossible To Ignore
As one of nine in this global UN Women campaign to highlight innovators
MAA on UN Women IWD Campaign
Wolfe featured in this celebrated campaign
UN Women hymns women innovators for IWD with classy Havas campaign
Posted by: Stephen Foster
More International Women’s Day, this time a stylish campaign by Havas from UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC) featuring female innovators including Amy Williams, founder of ethical advertising platform Good Loop; Dr Christyl Johnson, the first African-American deputy director of NASA and singer/songwriter Beatie Wolfe who also researches how music can help people with dementia.
UN Women has been gifted some of the world’s highest traffic ad locations (by JC Decaux among others) including at NYC’s Times Square, JFK International Airport, Westfield in London and a special Facebook filter.
The ads were shot pro bono by Bibi Cornejo Borthwick and Amy Troost.
Classy stuff. Havas is winning quite a reputation for good works advertisiing.
MAA creative scale: 9.
Campaign feature UN's Impossible to ignore with Beatie Wolfe
Havas partners with JCDecaux and Facebook to profile female innovators that include Beatie Wolfe
Havas partners with JCDecaux and Facebook to profile female innovators
Media owners have donated sites in London and New York, and digital and print space.
Havas UK and Havas New York have launched a campaign to raise the profile of women at the cutting edge of science, engineering, design and invention to mark International Women’s Day.
"Impossible to ignore" features figures including Dr Christyl Johnson, the first African-American deputy director of NASA; Amy Williams, who created ethical opt-in advertising platform Good Loop, and Beatie Wolfe, a singer-songwriter who has also carried out research on the role of music in creating better outcomes for dementia patients.
It will feature across media that has been provided by JCDecaux, Facebook, The Economist, Westfield, Nasdaq and Walgreens, with out-of-home sites including Times Square, JFK International Airport, the World Trade Center, Westfield London and train stations across the UK. Havas said it would deliver a combined two million impressions.
The campaign features photography by Bibi Cornejo Borthwick and Amy Troost. It was created for the Global Innovation Coalition for Change, a partnership created by UN Women, to mark the launch of She Innovates, a website featuring 100 in-depth inspirational stories of women including those featured in the campaign.
Helene Molinier, director of UN Women Innovation Facility, said: "We need to provide women around the world with access to the resources they need to become innovators in their own right, but also to level the playing field in accessing the benefits of innovation. Let’s make sure we don’t go another generation ignoring the extraordinary contributions women make."
UN Women celebrate IWD with Beatie Wolfe & co
So great to participate in the UN Women's She Innovates Stories campaign
‘IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE’ WOMEN STAGE GLOBAL MEDIA TAKEOVER TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
UN Women brings world-leading women innovators out of the shadows
Friday, 8th March 2019 – UN Women today launches a takeover of media sites in some of the most visible, high-traffic locations in the world to mark International Women’s Day and its theme “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for change”. ‘Impossible to Ignore’ celebrates the female scientists, inventors, engineers, designers and innovators leading their fields all over the world.
Despite being pioneers, our ‘Impossible to Ignore’ women have been overlooked for too long.
To bring them out of the shadows, members of UN Women Global Innovation Coalition for Change (GICC) and Havas Group, have secured media placements from partners and supporters around the world to deliver over 2 million impressions in a single day.
From New York City’s Times Square and JFK International Airport, to the digital billboards of the World Trade Centre and Westfield London. From the London Underground and railway stations across the UK, to a Facebook filter provided worldwide; this co-ordinated takeover incorporates over 1,000 different appearances on digital, out of home and print platforms.
Thanks to contributions from NASDAQ, JC Decaux, The Economist, Walgreens, Westfield, Facebook and more, high profile sites in New York, London and in print and online will display a series of arresting images of today’s female innovators emerging into the light; forcing people to stop, pay attention and be inspired by their example.
Shot by two leading portrait photographers in London and New York, Bibi Cornejo Borthwick and Amy Troost, both donating their time and talents for free, the ‘Impossible to Ignore’ women being celebrated today include:
Amy Williams – Amy founded ethical advertising platform Good Loop. Good Loop allows consumers to opt into advertising and puts revenue back into good causes.
Dr Christyl Johnson – Is the first African-American Deputy Director NASA has ever had. She began her career in space exploration as an intern and never looked back.
Beatie Wolfe - is a singer-songwriter and innovator of exceptional talent. But not being satisfied with just making beautiful music, she’s dedicated much of her life to innovating the music field including a research study that has proved the link between music and better outcomes in dementia patients.
Helene Molinier, Director of UN Women Innovation Facility said, “We need to provide women around the world with access to the resources they need to become innovators in their own right, but also to level the playing field in accessing benefits of innovation around the world. We are so thrilled with the power and impact of ‘Impossible to Ignore’, and are so thankful for the support we have had from all our partners in making it happen. Let’s make sure we don’t go another generation ignoring the extraordinary contributions women make.”
Havas UK Head of Communications and GICC member, Faye Raincock said; “We are blown away to know that millions of people will be confronted by ‘Impossible to Ignore’ today in different time zones and on different continents. It has been a privilege to make this campaign happen and we’re very proud of it. These women are pioneers and they must not be ignored a moment longer.”