Open Session For Women and Gender-diverse participants, with Steph Patsula

Open Session is a welcoming, low-pressure space for exploring sound, gear, and experimental music practices. This session centers women and gender-diverse communities, particularly those underrepresented in technical and experimental sound spaces. Participants are invited to experiment freely—whether that means plugging into unfamiliar gear, collaborating with others, or trying out new sonic ideas without expectation or hierarchy. No prior experience is necessary; curiosity and openness are the only requirements. Together, we’ll explore hands-on approaches to sound, emphasizing play, collective learning, and increasing access to tools and knowledge that are often gatekept in music and technical environments.
New Music Edmonton is pleased to be working alongside Steph Patsula, Bleeding Heart Art Space, and St. Mary’s Anglican Church.
Open Session is part of New Music Edmonton’s outreach programming, and part of Now Hear This 2026.
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Steph Patsula is an interdisciplinary artist working across sound, performance, and visual media. Their practice explores the relationships between ritual, technology, ecology, and perception through immersive sonic environments and experimental performance. Drawing on improvisation, folklore, and tactile approaches to sound-making, Patsula creates work that investigates presence, intimacy, and human/non-human systems. They hold MFAs from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the University of Alberta, and maintain a studio practice between Chicago and Edmonton.