Ingram Primary pupils recording in Holbeck, Leeds.

Children in Leeds have been adding a twist to the traditional postcard by creating ‘sonic postcards’ that show how the sounds of their city compare with other places in Britain.

The project is part of the national Sonic Postcards project which is a creative education project devised and delivered by Sonic Arts Network, and taking place in schools throughout the UK.

Children from Ingram Road and New Bewerley Primary Schools and Cockburn College in Leeds have been making their sonic postcards from sounds that they have recorded in their local area. They are then inviting children around the UK to swap and make their own sonic postcards.

“How something sounds is often difficult to describe with words so to be able to record it is a fun and interesting way of 'listening afresh' to bring a place to life,” explained Sue Ball, an arts consultant on the Light Neville Street scheme, which is working to improve a busy local road tunnel using sonic art as an integrated element of the design.

“Our aim was to encourage local communities in Leeds to explore creative ways to use technology and to understand the importance of sound in the improvements to Neville Street," added Sue.

Sonic Postcards is a creative education project devised and delivered by Sonic Arts Network, and taking place in schools throughout the UK.

The sonic postcards are made using snippets of sounds, and those made in Leeds can be heard alongside others from around the UK on the national Sonic Arts Network.

The resulting collection of sounds gathered is designed to demonstrate the different and common experiences children share daily - whether they live in an urban village in Leeds, or a rural village in Sussex.

Organisers hope that more children will be inspired to use some of their free time this summer to make their own sonic postcard and share their local soundscape with others across the country.

For more information on the sonic art postcards see www.sonicpostcards.org
To sample some of sonic postcards made in Leeds visit www.holbeckurbanvillage.co.uk/nevillestreet/#/postcards/
See also www.sonicartsnetwork.org