Projects

Around the world, people and communities are facing changes to the landscapes they’ve called home for centuries. Permafrost and glaciers are melting. Deserts exist where once there were lakes. Some coastlines recede while others creep inland. Rainforests are disappearing. Forest fires are coming faster and hotter.

Whether we agree that this is climate change or not, the reality is that people are witnessing changes to their landscapes and are planning for the future. How will they survive if there is not water from the glacier in the summer? How will they rebuild their city after it is devastated by a hurricane, knowing more and potentially fiercer hurricanes are on the horizon? How will they make the ultimate choice—to stay or to flee—and what will it mean for them and their communities?

We Could Just Leave is a sound art project dedicated to listening to the answers to these questions. A sonic collage culled from interviews conducted by filmmakers, journalists and artists around the globe, We Could Just Leave is a piece about people, not politics, probing straight into the heart of what is happening in communities whose landscapes are changing before their eyes.

We Could Just Leave weaves together voices from disparate parts of the world—from California to China, Bangladesh to the Netherlands—into an immersive sonic environment. Using techniques akin to music sampling, the piece creates a haunting, intimate sensory experience for listeners, transporting them into a quiet place of contemplation and deep listening.

Created by Amanda Burr in collaboration with the Canary Project, We Could Just Leave is a companion piece to the Canary Project’s acclaimed photography series A History of the Future.