Elen Flügge

Dr. Elen Flügge serves as a Lecturer at the Central Institute for Continuing Education and Transfer, Berlin University of the Arts, specializing in the intersection of sound art, urban environments, and auditory culture. Her work bridges academic research with public-facing artistic practice.

Education

• PhD in Sonic Arts, Queen's University Belfast (Sonic Arts Research Centre)
• MA in Sound Studies, Universität der Künste Berlin
• BA in Philosophy, Bard College, NY

Flügge's research pioneers ethnographic approaches to urban soundscapes, notably developing conversational soundwalks during her Belfast-focused doctoral work to document how inhabitants experience public auditory environments. Her practice examines sound's role in spatial perception and advocates for sound-sensitive urban planning through site-specific installations and vocal/violin performances. Current projects explore the lifecycle of urban sound through works like the 2023 Braunschweig festival soundwalk Womb to Tomb / Lebens(k)lang.

Her scholarly contributions include a foundational 2020 chapter in the Bloomsbury Handbook of Sound Art, analyzing auditory culture frameworks. Creative outputs demonstrate consistent engagement with sound as both research medium and artistic expression, particularly through long-term ensemble work with Belfast's HIVE experimental choir.

Flügge actively collaborates with research initiatives like Recomposing the City and maintains digital platforms (personalsoundspace.com, hivechoir.com) to disseminate her work on sound-space relationships beyond traditional academic channels.