Previously a lecturer in the Arts Division, Yolande Harris is excited for her new role as an Assistant Professor of Teaching in the music department and principal inaugural faculty in the new Creative Technology degree. Here at University of California, Santa Cruz she can pursue her love of music as it relates to the environment, predominantly ocean sounds.
Harris grew up on the south west coast of England, where she was surrounded by an ancient landscape that has stayed with her through her many relocations. . For 15 years she lived and worked in Europe following her love of the arts. She’s presented works in major cities across the United States and Europe including Amsterdam, New York, Cologne, Los Angeles, and more.
Before coming to UC Santa Cruz, Harris was Assistant Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design. When she was initially hired at UC Santa Cruz she took a road trip across the United States where she camped across different terrains along the way. “I remember crossing the last mountain before Santa Cruz and seeing the Pacific Ocean fog banks for the first time, stopping at the beach and watching dolphins close to shore,” says Harris.
It’s been eight years since Harris came to campus, where she has taught in departments across the Arts Division including Art, Music, and Digital Arts and New Media. “My overall aim in teaching is to inspire a love of learning and respect for the intricacies of the creative process,” she says. “The best moments are when as a classroom we are all engaged in each other’s projects, actively creating together, and learning by making, whether in music, art or media.”
As for her artistic practice, Harris describes herself as a composer and sound artist “that focuses on the transformative potential of sound and listening in times of environmental change.” She often works with audiovisuals to create a complex narrative that provides a heightened awareness of humans’ relationship to nature, with an emphasis on the deep ocean. “One of the tasks of learning to listen is to hear these human sounds in the context of the acoustic interdependence of ocean life,” says Harris.
Currently Harris is working on a new installation titled How You Shimmer: Sound Portal for Whale Bubbles, which is set to open in January 2025 as part of Getty’s PST Art in Los Angeles. Using a combination of ocean sounds, glass, bronze and projected moving light, this new installation, How You Shimmer, was created as part of a four year long project with University of California, Los Angeles.
With her creative work and teaching, Harris is looking forward to exploring over the next year. “I’m excited to work with students in an interdisciplinary position, based in music and reaching out across creative technologies,” she says. “This is a very exciting time to educate people in creative fields to work cultivating deep imaginations while shifting the emphasis away from oppressive dominant technologies, systems and economics. UC Santa Cruz is a good place to do this work.”