Dr. Doug Tewksbury Leads Interactive Session on Sound and Silence at the Burchfield Penney Art Center

Dr. Doug Tewksbury, a professor in Niagara University's Department of Communication and Media Studies, was invited to lead an interactive session on sound art at the Burchfield Penney Art Center on April 6, 2025. "The In-Between: Revealing Sound" was the first of three workshops inspired by and engaging with the work of Charles Burchfield and other artists in the BPAC collection.

Dr. Tewksbury's session, which looked at what lies between sound and silence, encouraged participants to create a spontaneous, improvised, collective performance using handbells.

"I was deeply honored to be asked to participate in an event at the Burchfield Penney Museum, and especially to get access to the huge, resonant spaces in the museum's galleries for our collective to work together in creating sound and silence," he said. "A large group of people ringing toned handbells is such a simple act, but allowing people to come together through art and sound and silence sometimes works best when everyone gets to start from a point of simplicity and beauty. It was a really lovely thing for us to get to experience."

Dr. Tewksbury is an interdisciplinary media artist and composer who commonly works with sound, electronics, photo/video, film, and other media. His ongoing creative work is focused on environmental themes and the humane, natural world, particularly the climate crisis. In addition to his numerous recorded and sound works, he has developed media, sound, and performance installations for various museums, galleries, and public spaces.