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HearSay International Audio Festival began as an idea in 2014, evolving into the largest, most unique celebration of creative audio in the world and all in the small mountain village of Kilfinane, deep in rural Ireland. Carving out a dedicated time and space, where hundreds of the finest audio makers from many disciplines come together to inspire, create and share their work.

For four magical days, the local community opens up their homes, shops, pubs and churches to facilitate performances in the most unusual and quirky locations imaginable. Novelty, experimentation, creativity and collaboration are the themes that underscore a weekend long festival programme, where sonic surprises abound around every corner.

As an advocate of the creative audio, the HearSay Prize, invites creators from around the globe to submit new works for assessment by our illustrious panel of judges.

By 2019, the festival had grown to feature 111 different artists from 32 different countries, with 129 events over four days. HearSay is truly a diverse celebration of global sound art and yet it still retains the magic and intimacy that re-energise all who visit.

Through the dark days of the pandemic we triumphed over adversity, hosting a virtual festival, HearSay Homefires, for our international community and a dedicated HearSay Encounters programme for our local community.

Now in 2022, we are commencing conversations with our creative community, our partners, our funders and you. We want to explore the potential for a return to an immersive event in late spring 2023. What unsated demand exists for our festival? How has the sonic landscape transformed and what role can HearSay play in evolving its future?

Get in touch and share your thoughts, the next steps are going to be exciting, so if you are not already signed up to our newsletter – do so now!