Mann will be creating a collaborative piece with composer Allison Johnson for the opening celebration of Now Hear This! An exericse in listening-- an outdoor exhibition featuring immersive site-specific soundscapes, sonic experiences and workshops, sound sculptures, and a new digital curatorial platform, Soundings.

The opening celebrations will include various sonic performances and opportunities for interactive engagement by visitors. It will also feature a tribute to the work and life of Pauline Oliveros, a central figure in the development of experimental and post-war electronic art music, and her commitment to cultivating radically receptive listening.

In addition to installations on the grounds, the opening celebration will also include three event-based artist programs that explore listening from different perspectives: 

Organized by composer, conductor and performance artist Luciano Chessa, Deep Listening with Pauline celebrates the spirit and legacy of Pauline Oliveros -- a central figure in the development of experimental and post-war electronic music, and originator of the praxis of Deep Listening. Various sonic performances and opportunities for interactive engagement by visitors will explore Pauline’s creative legacy and commitment to cultivating radically receptive listening. Participating artists includeAshley Bellouin, Stuart Dempster, Elana Mann, Ramón Sender Barayón, and Fernando Vigueras.
 
Examining listening from an alternative cultural perspective, audiovisual and performance artist, film maker, and DJ Arshia Haq will craft a temporal immersive sound environment drawing inspiration from devotional listening and the Sufi practice of sama, in which vocal and instrumental music is used as a way of attaining union with the divine. She will work in collaboration with Amy Alexander, a digital media, audiovisual and performance artist.

Guitarist/multi-instrumentalist and Lucas Artist Composer Fellow Mike Gamble will perform an evening set on the front Veranda of Montalvo's historic Villa with his collaborator, film-maker/visual artist Devin Febbroriello. 

Now Hear This! is presented as part of the Lucas Artists Program’s Art on the Grounds initiative at Montalvo Arts Center. Art on the Grounds is a commissioning and exhibition program providing artists with opportunities to develop and present works of art in the context of a 175-acre public park.