The first exchange connected high school students in Nyanga, a township outside Cape Town, with peers in Brooklyn, NY. Through Found Sound Nation-led workshops, participants became ‘sonic pen-pals,’ using field recordings, interviews, and oral histories to explore questions of race, identity, and place. A second exchange in Johannesburg brought together young people with elderly residents of the innercity suburb, Hillbrow, bridging generations through shared listening and storytelling.

Many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. 

But one day you’ll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.

– Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

The title Hear Be Dragons plays on the medieval saying “here be dragons,” which denoted unchartered or mysterious territories on maps. This experiential process encourages young people to investigate the ways in which sound and the urban environment influence our quality of life, our perception of history and memory, and our notions of identity, place and time. Participants explored various methods of sound production to create sonic compositions and audio documentaries that convey a broader sense of sonic and urban awareness. The program's aim was to create a platform for expression and the investigation of issues affecting urban environments and their inhabitants while equipping participants with a basic understanding of sound recording, editing technology and media creation tools.

The first iteration of the program culminated with a visit to Brooklyn from several participants of Nyanga workshops, where they re-envisioned their original sound compositions as a full-length multi-disciplinary theater work which was presented at National Sawdust in Williamsburg, NY. The second edition culminated in a work in progress showing of at WIlliam Kentridge's Center for The Less Good Idea in Johannesburg, South Africa.