radio air garden Windmill Hill City Farm

The first public radio air garden has been set up at Windmill Hill City Farm Bristol on 26th of July 2024 supported by the Brunswick School. It kicked off with Radio Art Lab a weekend of radio art workshops, talks and performances. I ran an FM workshop showing people how to make them. Sharing how I see the components as sculptural sound objects, especially the coil which has been used for its electroculture properties in the radio air garden, alongside the aeolian antenna. I also ran a workshop to encourage others to make their own electroculture antenna sculptures for their gardens. I also took part in a talk on ecoustic ecologies with environmental scientists from UWE and Manchester University, Ana Castro-Castellon, Ian Thornhill and fellow artist Lia Mazzari, chaired by Teresa Dillon. Photos below Ibi Feher.

We ended the weekend with live radio performance inspired by John Cages’ chance radio composition Imaginary Landscape number 4 and then jammed with theramins we made during a workshop run by Bristol Commual Modular.

“Magz Hall’s Radio Air Garden uses plants which are known to absorb air pollution and are also great air pollinators promoting planting to improve air quality, the garden links in to the hundred-year long history of experimentation of using copper coils for growth, known as electro-culture. The central work is an aeolian antenna prototype made for Magz by inventor and artist Henry Dagg, to her specification riffing on the type of antenna used around 1882, the aim of which was to fertilize gardens with atmospheric electricity, initially designed by Brother Paulin, director of Beauvais School of Agriculture who called it a “geomagnetifere.“ to improve plant grown without the use of chemical fertilisers and later French Inventor and engineer Justin Christofleau who grew an electric vegetable garden potager électrique, using “electro-magnetic terro-celestial” power. Magz also rescaled copper radio transmitter coils, to also aid growth and use as plant support sculptures riffing on electroculture techniques.

This first public edition of Radio Air Garden has been planted up and installed at Windmill Hill City Farm to provided a place to share radio art activities, workshops and talks and to raise awareness of air pollution. Magz grew up in Windmill Hill, her parents help set up the farm in the 70’s when it was a rat-infested, concrete wasteland and her formative eco experiences at the Farm have certainly informed her practice today.”

Thanks to the huge support from artist curator Kathy Hinde, The Bruswick Club West of England Visual Arts Alliance (WEVAA) supported by Arts Council and Windmill Hill City Farm.

Magz Hall photos from the opening weekend