Margins In Resonance
by Charlie Star
About the Project
Margins In Resonance is a welcoming and collaborative audio-social project that invites members of diverse Black communities to share their stories, voices, and sounds. The project is a way of connecting with the Black diaspora* and investigating the role that music and sound plays in shaping identity, culture, and belonging.
This project asks members of the Black community to share their lived sonic experience. Together, we will ask:
What role does music play in shaping your sense of self? How do the places you call home, and the realities you live every day, influence the sounds you're drawn to, whether you're listening, or producing?
These questions stem from my own journey as a diasporic Black woman, navigating the layered complexities of identity, place, and belonging. Growing up surrounded by dominant representations shaped by imperial and Western ideals in music and media, I have often struggled to see myself fully reflected in the narratives around me. That absence led me to listen more intently for what felt authentic and aligned with my own sense of self. It also inspired me to seek out the sounds of my birthplace in the West Indies, drawing on collective and diasporic memories, and tuning into forms of resistance that echoed my own experience.
My work is deeply informed by Black studies and diasporic research, which help me trace the socio-historical threads that shape my identity and the broader realities of Black life across geographies. Through sound (collecting and producing), I engage with these threads, grappling with what it means to carry multiple histories, and finding resonance in the stories, rhythms, and voices of other Black diasporic people.
While participating in the Open Studios artist residency at Struts Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick, I am looking to connect with Black community members from a range of backgrounds and lived experiences in the region. I will ask to record the audio of our conversation to create samples to add to a mixed audio collage that pieces together field recordings, experimental sounds and music. The work will be presented to the public at the end of August.
Keywords
Audio Collage
A way of making sound art by layering and blending different audio elements. You can take different sounds like music, people talking, birds singing, water crashing, footsteps, or whatever you can capture audibly, and mix them all together to make something new to listen to.
Diaspora
A term used to describe the movement or dispersion of people from their ancestral homeland. As individuals and communities navigate new geographic and cultural contexts, maintaining ties to cultural, emotional, and historical roots can become both more complex and more essential to the formation of identity.
Margins
Referring to spaces or communities that exist outside the mainstream or centers of power. Sometimes people choose to be there, drawn by a sense of freedom or difference. Other times, they are systemically excluded or overlooked. But from the edges, people often see things others can’t, and their perspectives can be sharp, creative, and full of possibility. bell hooks’ Choosing the Margins as a Space of Radical Openness (1989) offers a powerful reflection on what it means to live in the margins, reimagining it as a space of possibility, resistance, and transformation.
Research-Creation
Learning by making things. Instead of just reading books or writing papers, you can also discover new ideas by making art, music, or other creative stuff.
Resonance
In music, resonance is when the vibrations of one sound match the natural frequency of another, causing it to start vibrating too. It’s like one sound waking up another because they’re in tune with each other. More broadly, resonance can describe when a sound, idea, or feeling sticks with you in a meaningful way, even after it’s gone. It’s often used to talk about deep connection or relevance that echoes across time, place, or experience.
About the Artist
Hi, my name is Charlie Star. I’m an artist and educator based in Hamilton, Ontario. My work explores the ways sound, memory, and identity connect, particularly within Black diasporic communities. I use sound as a tool for storytelling, healing, and connection, often combining found sound from interviews, archival material, music, and field recordings to create layered audio artworks.
My background is rooted in both visual and sound-based practices. I recently completed a Master of Fine Arts, where my thesis project focused on remix culture and the diversity of Black music. I also draw on personal experiences of growing up in a biracial family with Afro-Caribbean and French-Canadian roots, and the ways listening to and producing music helps me navigate questions of identity and belonging, while also revealing their complexities.
This path began with a DJ project I started in 2015 under the moniker Rasta Princess, a name inspired by a close friend of my dad’s who would joyfully call me ‘Princess!’ every time he saw me. Rooted in love and reverence for Black musical lineages, especially reggae and its many evolutions and migrations, including dub, dancehall, ska, rocksteady, and lover’s rock, I seek out female-fronted reggae and music that reflects the breadth of the Black diaspora, from vintage tracks and hidden gems to future-facing experimental sounds.
Margins In Resonance is an extension of my creative and research practice. It’s a project close to my heart, born from a desire to hear and share stories that don’t often get centered. I’m drawn to sound for its emotional and visceral power, and its ability to spark deep, personal reflection. Through my work, I hope to create space for that kind of listening.
I’m very grateful to connect with others through this project, and I’m approaching every conversation with care, curiosity, and respect. I look forward to listening with you.
Questions & Answers
About the Project
What is "Margins In Resonance"?
Margins In Resonance is a creative audio-social project that explores how music shapes identity and belonging within diverse Black communities. Through recorded conversations, collaborative sound pieces, and listening sessions, the project invites participants to reflect on the music they make, listen to, and carry with them, and how those sounds are connected to their personal and collective histories. It is both a research-creation project and a space of listening, dialogue, and care.
What is the goal of the project?
The goal of Margins In Resonance is to create a sonic archive that centers Black voices and experiences, particularly those that are often overlooked or misrepresented in dominant media. By engaging with people across different generations, locations, and cultural backgrounds, the project aims to highlight the diversity within Black identity and challenge monolithic narratives. It seeks to build connection through sound, and offer a space where music becomes a tool for reflection, healing, and empowerment.
Why are you doing this project?
From my own journey as a diasporic Black woman, this project is a call to connect: an invitation to gather stories and sounds that speak to the complexity, nuance, and shared resonance of Black life across Canada. Margins In Resonance is my way of listening back, of asking questions, creating space, and creatively reflecting the sounds and stories that live outside the center. It is both personal and political: a way to connect, to document, and to celebrate the multiplicity of Black sonic expression.
About Participating
Who can participate in this project?
Margins In Resonance is open to anyone currently living in the Maritimes who identifies as Black or of African descent, and is interested in exploring the ways music connects to their identity, culture, and lived experience. You don’t need to be a musician, just someone who connects with sound, music, and storytelling in some way.
How do I get involved?
If you’re interested, you can reach me by email at charstarme@gmail.com, fill in the contact form at the bottom of the page, or reach out to Struts Gallery. We’ll set up a time to chat so I can learn more about you and share a bit more about the project. No previous experience is needed, just a willingness to share and be in conversation.
What steps will be involved to make this project?
Step 1: We’ll start with an informal conversation. With your permission, I’ll record it. We’ll talk about our experiences with music, identity, and belonging. Feel free to bring music to share with me, whether it’s your own music or a track that you love.
Step 2: I’ll listen back to the recording and may pull excerpts to create samples that will be incorporated into the final audio collage.
Step 3: I’ll share what I’ve made with you. You’ll have the chance to approve it, request changes, or choose not to include it.
Step 4: The recording will be presented on site at Struts Gallery and shared online.
When and where will you record the audio?
Recordings can take place in person or online between July 23-August 23. I’ll work with your schedule and location to make it as accessible and comfortable as possible. If you’re local to Sackville, New Brunswick, we can meet at Struts Gallery, or wherever feels right for you.
What do I get for participating?
As a thank you for your time and contribution, you’ll receive a $25 gift card to a record store of your choosing. You’ll also have the opportunity to review your recording and help decide how your voice or story is included in the final project. In addition, you’ll receive digital copies of your recorded conversation, as well as the final audio artwork. Your contribution will help build a shared archive that centers Black voices, honours personal histories, and fosters connection through sound.
Okay, I'd like to participate. What's next?
Amazing! Send me a quick email introducing yourself through the contact form below and I’ll get in touch to arrange a first meeting. From there, we’ll plan a time to record and talk through anything you’d like to share or ask in advance. I’m excited to connect and listen with you.
About the Exhibition
Where will the project be exhibited?
Margins In Resonance will be presented at Struts Gallery in Sackville, New Brunswick, as part of my 5-week artist residency with the gallery. The exhibition will take place within the Struts Gallery space, offering a dedicated environment for listening, reflection, and community engagement.
When will the project be exhibited?
The exhibition will be held at the end of the residency, in late August 2025. Specific dates and details will be shared closer to the time.
Who is organizing the exhibition?
The exhibition is being organized collaboratively by myself, as the artist-in-residence, in partnership with the team at Struts Gallery.
Any Other Questions?
Is there something else you'd like to know?
Reach out to me by email at charstarme@gmail.com. I’m happy to connect, answer questions, or continue the conversation.
Acknowledgments
Through this project, I’ve had to thoughtfully reckon with the complexities of my position as a guest passing through the Maritimes. I recognize there are deep and layered histories of Black presence in this region, which reflect legacies of resilience, resistance, and community that have long shaped the cultural fabric here, even as they remain underrepresented in Canadian history. I approach this work with humility and care, aware that I am engaging with a place that holds its own specific and ongoing struggles and stories.
Throughout my time in the Maritimes, I’ve also come to learn about and deeply respect the work of those rooted in the region who are meaningfully preserving and honouring Black history through research, storytelling, music, art, and activism. I am grateful that my academic training has equipped me with certain tools to think critically about race, identity, and subjectivity, and has made it possible for me to carry out a project like this. At the same time, I’m mindful that institutions like academia can sometimes create distance or claim authority over lived experience and knowledge. With this project, I aim to lead with curiosity, care, and an openness to learning. While this work does not seek to remedy historical erasure, it aims to contribute to the broader archive by offering space for additional narratives to emerge, grounded in listening, relationship-building, and sonic exploration. I’m grateful to Struts Gallery for supporting this opportunity and for making space for this work to unfold.
I’d also like to recognize and pay respect to the First Peoples on whose territories I have the privilege of engaging in this research and creative work. From my time spent in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq, to my time in what is now New Brunswick, I am grateful for the opportunity to be a guest on these lands. I acknowledge the enduring presence, stewardship, and cultural contributions of the Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik and Peskotomuhkati peoples, and commit to approaching this work with respect, responsibility, and an awareness of the histories and sovereignties that shape these lands.
Special thanks to Michèle Pearson Clarke for generously sharing examples of participatory project-based websites, and to Jessica Thompson for her review of the “About the Project” text.
Image credits:
Top image: Remixed version of Amanda Yuu’s Visualization of Sound Waves, sourced from Wikimedia Commons (open source).
Headshot: Gideon Kyei