Sonic Sunset
Artwork by Jerome Allen-Smith (2025).

Sonic Sunset

A Sensory Odyssey that Transports Us to Rare Ecosystems Around the Globe
Nick Ryan & Kay Matschullat
September 27, 2025
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35th Ave, Queens, NY 11106
Sonic Sunset is produced by Media Art Xploration (MAXlive), Kay Matschullat, Artistic Director, with support from Simons Foundation’s Science, Society & Culture division. Additional Funding provided by the Ettinger foundation, public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the generous support of our individual donors.

Sonic Sunset blends vocal performance with bio-acoustic field recordings of whales in sub-Arctic waters, orangutans in the rainforests of Borneo, and birds over India’s Western Ghats. Taking from the field notes of these scientists’ decades long engagement with these ecosystems, vocalist, Eliza Bagg of Grammy Award winning ensemble, Roomful of Teeth, weaves her beautiful voice into the extraordinary soundscape by Emmy winner Nick Ryan amidst the sublime visual world created by Tony nominee David Bengal giving the audience a visceral global tour. Enter into each ecosystem through these species in order to connect deeply and emotionally with their homes, witness the human impact that endangers them, and glimpse the possibilities for regeneration.

https://vimeo.com/mediaartxplor/sonic-sunset-short-clip

Featured Collaborators

"Sonic Sunset.. transcends the hems of traditional audio art"

The Science Times

Conversation with the Artists

Collaboration as Resistance: The Art and Science of Sound

Speakers: Nick Ryan, Kay Matschullat, David Bengali, Dr. Wendy Erb, Dr. Vijay Ramesh, Dr. Michelle Fournet, Dr. David Haskell
Moderated By: R. Luke Dubois

In The Press

Production Photos by Erica MacLean (2025).
Conversation & Reception Photos by Erica MacLean (2025).
Behind the Scene Photos by Hannah Jo (2024).