Overhearings: Mary Hennen & Regina Martinez in Conversation

October 26, 2023 - Mary Hennen of the Field Museum’s Chicago Peregrine Program and artist Regina Martinez come together in a lunchtime conversation to discuss their respective work and the parallels between them. This talk was presented by Experimental Sound Studio, Monira Foundation, and Mana Contemporary in conjunction with Regina's installation 'overhearings' at Mana Contemporary.
overhearings is a site-specific sound installation in response to the peregrine falcons who have resided at Mana Contemporary for over two decades. This 2-channel work will be located in the recesses of Mana’s 4th Floor restroom area. It centers the idea that, despite our close proximity to these creatures, what we know about the peregrine falcon is what we imagine the falcon to be. It is a story of contrasting textures, call and response and a personal reflection on our projections and compassion.
Regina Martinez is a sound centered artist based in Chicago. Her current experiments draw from an archive of infinitely personal recordings she relates to as soundmarks: her father's hands cleaning dried beans, drumline rehearsal after school, the creak of the front gate to home, the flap of our clothes outside on the line. Each recorded moment becomes its own instrument, its own layer of composition, and a washing and wringing out of memory meant to be overheard like a poem again and again. Most recently she is an artist-in-residence at High Concept Labs in Chicago, and received an MA in Sound Arts & Industries from Northwestern University.
Mary Hennen is the Assistant Collections Manager in the Bird Division at the Field Museum. In addition to her regular duties of caring for the ornithological collections, she directs the Chicago Peregrine Program. Mary has been involved with Peregrines since 1989 and took over as director in 1990. Work with Peregrines involves banding young, retrieving injured birds, and monitoring wild breeding pairs in Illinois. Be sure to check out her Illinois Peregrine Facebook page.
The Chicago Peregrine Program is a wide network of volunteers, all with a goal of helping reestablish Peregrines back in the wild. From Peregrine watchers to building owners, engineers, management personnel, wildlife rehabilitators, vet technicians, city workers, collision monitors, office workers, condo residents, librarians, power plant personnel, photographers, hack site attendants, technicians, educators, and everyone who has every let us know of a Peregrine sighting.

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Two cor-ting birds 🎉