Megan Hattie Stahl

This one-mile GPS-triggered audio tour explores the musical history of Portland, Oregon's Albina district and was produced in collaboration with archivist Bobby Smith and his initiative Albina Music Trust. Hosted on the ECHOES mobile application, the walk comprises nine short audio documentaries which play automatically at their associated locations. Tour stops include historic soul venues and community hubs, from the ritzy Cotton Club to the gritty Fred’s Place and teen club the 7 of Diamonds. Locally, it's no secret Albina has changed enormously in recent decades. Urban renewal projects and gentrification have led to displacement of Black residents and fracturing of tight-knit communities. Through rare digitized musical recordings and new interviews with those who sang, played, and partied there, the Albina Soul Walk tries to not only communicate what went on at these spots during the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s, but to interrogate why they're no longer there, honoring the toll decades of "progress" have taken on this community.

The walk has been streamed over 1000 times to date and is still available free of charge. Albina Music Trust received the 2021 President’s Award from Travel Portland largely thanks to the project. In 2022, the walk was named one of “10 Reasons to Visit Portland, Oregon This Spring” by Forbes Travel. In addition to producing, I also coordinated a PR campaign and planned numerous events related to the project.

An interactive, geolocated sound map exploring youth experiences in New York City’s public spaces. In response to an open call, 15 participants submitted short place-based memories from between the ages of 15 and 24. These audio stories were eligible for awards in four categories, as voted on by a jury of artists and academics working in sound, social practice and geography. A selection of entries were installed as QR codes for a solo exhibition for the month of June 2023 at Dweebs Café in Brooklyn, NY.