TIJUANA SOUND ARTS PROJECT: A NOMADIC STUDIO REPORT José Ignacio López Ramírez-Gastón University of California, San Diego Department of Music. Center for Research in Computing and the Arts, CRCA nacho@discosinvisibles.org ABSTRACT The Tijuana Sound Arts Project is a nomadic laboratory for sound arts based on the city of Tijuana, Mexico. This paper evaluates the work done by the lab during the last ten years, focusing in recent activity. It also points out the importance of developing new contextually based models for computer music experimentation and creative application of media, other than the traditional studio. It argues for the need of a democratization of knowledge, critically examining how the persistent inequalities in education pose a challenge to the development of a community of sound artists and the construction of local narratives for the application of technology to music and sound. 1. INTRODUCTION The traditional notion of a digital divide does not quite reflect the educational problematic in Tijuana, as it refers to the needs for hardware and software implementation. Schools, Universities, and other educational institutions in Tijuana include physical access to computers and connectivity. Alternative mechanisms to access computers like public cyber cafes are also common. What is normally not taken under consideration is the social and human systems that need to change for the technology to became meaningful [1]. In the case of technology based sound arts in Tijuana, if we stretch the notion of the digital divide to encompass a broader array of factors and resources, we find that issues of educational content, community and social resources for technology are not taken under consideration. For instance, no university in Tijuana offers basic training on the area of technology and sound. The city also lacks people trained in computer music, sound arts, digital signal process and other related areas, capable of training a generation of artists on the implementation of technology and sound as elements in artistic production. While the proximity to the United States and therefore a mayor access to consumer tools for digital musical composition have generated a wide interest in technology- based musical production, the lack of educational support has disabled the development of more complex levels of technological implementation and creative use of technology. 2. RESEARCH STUDIO AND COMPUTER MUSIC COMMUNITIES Many traditional studios and research centers depend on a physical location, equipment, university or institutional support, faculty positions, researchers, residencies, visitors, and in some cases a performance space. Sophisticated control rooms, state-of-the-art recording studios and acoustically treated theaters permit for the exploration of certain aspects of computer music realization. Even though the traditional studio is an important element of the development of computer music, and sound arts in general, it is not the only possibility for creative technology-based art production. Electro-acoustic music, electronic music, and computer music have developed in the last years strong communities outside of the academic environments. Both the situation of these communities within the world of popular (non-academic) arts and the particular characteristics of the Tijuana case, require a contextual understanding and new solutions tailored to the needs and possibilities of the particular communities. 3. STRATEGIES 3.1. Temporary Allies During the last ten years, and under the name of Discos Invisibles, I have been implemented series of strategies for the generation of a culture of the sound arts in the city of Tijuana. During this process I took advantage of as many institutions and resources as possible. This has included so far: the Universidad Iberoamericana, the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California, the Colegio Bilingue Anglo- Español. La Casa de la Cultura, the Instituto Cultural de Baja California, and the Centro Cultural Tijuana. None of this institutions has a complex knowledge of the field of Computer Music, and took the opportunity to implement spaces for this 'new arts' as a novel and temporary enterprise. While the negative part of this relationships is the impossibility of generating long term institutional commitments, I think this can be taken as an opportunity to Proceedings of the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC 2009), Montreal, Canada August 16-21, 2009 219