Brian Harnetty_Shawnee, Ohio_2016_Premiered at the Wexner Center for the Arts
Brian Harnetty is an interdisciplinary artist who works closely with sound archives and communities connected to them. His work contends that the simple act of listening –– to people, place, and their pasts –– can transform our futures. His current projects –– supported by a 2018 A Blade of Grass Fellowship and the 2016 Creative Capital Performance Award –– are deeply involved with ecology, extraction, and economy in Appalachian Ohio, informed in part by his family's roots in the region. Harnetty received a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Arts at Ohio University, an M.Mus. in Music Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, London, and a B.Mus. in Music Composition from The Ohio State University. Harnetty has released five internationally acclaimed albums. His 2013 release, The Star-Faced One: from the Sun Ra/El Saturn Archives was MOJO Magazine’s Underground Album of the Year. He has performed throughout the US and Europe, and has written in-depth articles on sound, extraction, and Appalachia. Past collaborators include Will Oldham, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Anna Roberts-Gevalt (Anna & Elizabeth), and Paul De Jong (The Books). Harnetty is currently an AmeriCorps Volunteer, telling the stories of people in Appalachian Ohio.
