Events › Soul, Sonics, and Soundsystems Sound Art Exhibition + High Fidelity Listening Room + Archival Display

Soul, Sonics, and Soundsystems is a sound‑based art exhibition featuring a dedicated Hi‑Fi Listening Room and an accompanying archival display.

Presented by Black American Sound System (BASS), the project centers intentional listening as a cultural, historical, and communal practice rooted in Black American sound.

In response to digital saturation and passive consumption, the exhibition creates a focused environment for active listening: where sound is experienced with context, care, and attention. Visitors are invited to engage with music as an archive, technology, and living culture, supported by historical materials and shared presence. The theme of the exhibition highlights historical significance, activisms and innovations of Black American music through sound systems, soul music, and sonic experimentation.

The exhibition remains on view throughout the season and is activated through three public programs that deepen listening, encourage dialogue, and bring community together around Black American sonic lineage.

ABOUT THE ARTIST & PROJECT

Deon Brown is a multidisciplinary musician, sound artist and composer whose work explores Black American sound as technology, archive, and spiritual practice. Black American Sound System (BASS) operates at the intersection of sound, sculpture, history, and design, translating ancestral listening practices into contemporary public programming. His work has been featured in San Francisco’s 2025 Black Art Week, the California African American Museum, The Creative Independent, Bandcamp, Southern Exposure and VoyageLA magazine. As a music artist, Brown blends sonic worlds of R&B, Gospel, and House to stages to the likes of Rico Nasty, Noisepop, NPR Tiny Desk, Sofar Sounds, and countless others. From the deeply spiritual and ethereal “Right Now, Right Here” and “Affirmation 1”, to the punk and southern rap fragments of “Hotlink”, there is an ambition and audacity in Brown’s work that feels undeniable, leaving audiences captivated and craving more.

WHAT WILL BE ON VIEW 

The display cases function as a visual and historical extension of the Listening Room. They deepen context by tracing the lineage of Black American sound systems, soul music, and community listening cultures.

Display content includes:

Curated vinyl records and sleeves

Sound‑system related books, liner notes, and excerpts

Printed archival materials and interpretive text

Historical framing connecting Oakland to Black American sonic innovation

Together, the display cases enhance and contextualize the Listening Room, allowing visitors to engage with the history even outside scheduled. 

Cornbread Sound System — Hi‑Fi Listening Room Installation

Location: Designated listening room at Main Library

At the center of the exhibition is the Cornbread Sound System, a handcrafted, high‑fidelity sound system

presented as both sculptural artwork and functional listening instrument. The Listening Room is designed

for focused, intentional listening. It supports stillness, attention, and shared experience, allowing visitors

to engage deeply with sound and with one another. This listening room offers curated selections in

dialogue with Soul, Sonics, and Soundsystems, foregrounding Black American innovators and their

contributions to music history.

The Listening Room functions as:

A site for contextualized listening to Black American music and sound history

A gathering space where listening becomes a collective act

An extension of the archival exhibition through embodied experienceRather than background sound, the Listening Room positions sound as primary; inviting audiences to

listen with purpose, awareness, and respect for lineage.

WHY THIS MATTERS?

Much of today’s listening happens passively and without context. This exhibition responds by

foregrounding listening as an intentional practice; one that builds understanding, connection, and cultural

memory.