Giada Dalla Bontà

Giada Dalla Bontà is an Italian researcher, curator, and writer serving as a PhD fellow at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, and is affiliated with the Sound Studies Lab. Based in Berlin and Copenhagen, her work centers on experimental sonic practices within unofficial art circles of the late Soviet Union and contemporary post-socialist nations, examining cultural-political impacts through sensorial and relational frameworks.

Her research integrates Sound Studies, Sonic Agency, and Sound Anthropology to investigate how sonic fictions and participatory practices in ideologized spaces foster identity reconfiguration and engagement with historical trauma. Key thematic focuses include Soviet/post-Soviet sound practices, Hypernormalisation, Capitalist Realism, Acid Communism, and institutional critique of underground cultures, emphasizing sonic experiences' role in sociopolitical dynamics.

Her 2023 edited anthology 'What Sounds Do: New Directions in an Anthropology of Sound' exemplifies interdisciplinary convergence of audio papers and anthropological sound research, highlighting political dimensions of sonic expression across global contexts.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Valand Academy scholarship (University of Göteborg with Bard University)
• De Appel grant

She has secured competitive grants for her research and actively shapes academic discourse, notably co-organizing the February 2024 launch event for the Seismograf special issue featuring international contributors. Her teaching encompasses Sound Art, Music Production, and Experimental Avant-garde Music.

As a core member of the University of Copenhagen's Sound Studies Lab, she contributes to projects including 'Anthropology of Sound' and 'Sonic Thinking,' advancing the lab's mission to explore sound's cultural, political, and media dimensions.