Community Listening with Dameun Strange

Listening is a daily act that is both solo and collaborative: a conversation between family members over breakfast, taking in a lesson at school, a podcast that plays in your ears as you wait for the bus.

What happens when we listen, intentionally, together? Let’s find out at the Art + Water Workshop: Aquasonos – Community Listening with Dameun Strange on Saturday, June 6, from 6:00 – 9:00 pm at our Watershed Learning Center (595 Aldine Street, Saint Paul, MN 55104).

At this evening event, you are invited to listen as a community to the sounds of our watershed, from the ancient history of Como Lake to the birds of Frogtown Farm. Sound scores by musician and composer Dameun Strange will be installed as listening environments in CRWD’s building and outdoor gardens (depending on weather). Experience three immersive works, including a new piece composed of field recordings gathered at the previous Aquasonos workshop on April 25, 2026.

Works you’ll hear at the event on Saturday, June 6:

AquaSonos | Medawaka (2025) by Dameun Strange

Quadraphonic mix of multitrack audio

Frozen river cleaves
Man forgets water is life
Choose life or machines

Medawaka (Mysterious Lake) and Omníčiye Makhóčhe (the Land Where We Gather) are the Lakota and Dakota names, respectively, for Como Lake in Saint Paul. Before the European settlement and “development” of the area, the lake had a much larger footprint. Long ago, receding glacial lakes and rivers formed what would become Como Lake. The recording is a reflection on how long it took for nature to carve and create this beautiful lake compared to the short speck of time it has taken man to endanger its existence. With many threats facing our lakes and rivers, it’s easy to wonder if there will be clean water for future generations. We must choose to care for our waters together and remember that “Water is life!”

AquaSonos: TetrachordXPetrichor (2024) by Dameun Strange

Originally commissioned for a Walker Reader series curated by John Marks Williams (MirrorLab, Cedar Cultural Center), “Twin Cities Sounds” invited artists to create original scores for sites across the Twin Cities. Dameun chose Frogtown Farm and Park. The piece synthesizes the ecosystem of this urban refuge with resonant pulses and dissonant chimes, creating a landscape where birds, frogs, wind, and trees intermingle with sound filters and time-based effects.

New Composition – title to be announced (2026) by Dameun Strange

A brand-new work integrating sounds collected at Art + Water Workshop Aquasonos: Sounds of our Watershed on April 25, 2026.

Art + Water Workshop: Aquasonos – Community Listening with Dameun Strange

We hope you can join us for this unique experience. Registration is optional but appreciated. Event details and registration at Art + Water Workshop: Aquasonos – Community Listening with Dameun Strange

This event is part of the We Are Water MN exhibit at Capitol Region Watershed District’s Watershed Learning Center from April 23 to June 14, 2026.

Art + Water Workshops are organized by CRWD Artist-in-Residence Sarah Peters and CRWD Community Engagement Coordinator Maricella Xiong.

About the artist:

Dameun Strange is an acclaimed sound artist, multi-instrumentalist, and award-winning composer. His body of work encompasses conceptual electronic and improvised electro-acoustic compositions that delve into the narratives and themes of the African diaspora, frequently incorporating surrealist and Afrofuturist aesthetics. Through sound and poetry, Strange’s artistic aim is to articulate the beauty and resilience of the Black experience, drawing upon ancestral influences to convey stories of triumph and forge connections across the past, present, and future.

Strange has composed for notable artists and choreographers including Leslie Parker, Ananya Chatterjea, Joanna Lees, and Pramila Vasudevan. His significant accolades include the 2018 ACF | Create Award and a 2019 Jerome Hill Fellowship. Most recently, he was named the inaugural composer-in-residence for the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) for their 2025-26 60th anniversary season.