Sounds of Sanctuary
A Meditation on Coming Home
Balikbayan Worldwide
Moon Meditation
Bahay Kubo (Chicago)
Baba (爸爸)
Searching for Sonic Empathy
Sounds of Sanctuary: An immersive installation of meditative soundscapes for AAPI birthworkers and birthing people
Queens Botanical Garden, Queens NY / June 2025
Sounds of Sanctuary was a multi-part project that explored the intersections of sound, memory and community care for AAPI birth workers and birthing people by artist and doula Florence Cecile Camacho Almeda in the spring of 2025. Florence led one-on-one meditation sessions for AAPI birth workers & birthing people in NYC, guiding participants in envisioning their safe, calm place. Inspired by these sessions, she produced custom meditative tracks to bring participants’ safe, calm places to life. Each participant received an aromatherapy kit as a grounding tool to pair with their meditative track.
The project culminated in an immersive audio installation at the Queens Botanical Garden, a listening space for the public to connect & unwind. Composed of field recordings and sample-based instruments, these tracks rendered portals into memory and feeling, offering sound as means for deeper connection with themselves and others. Gentle field recordings of lakes, rivers, & ponds taken by Florence played in the overhead speakers as a nod to water as a symbol for life and birth, as well as the project participants' shared inclination for water soundscapes. The individual meditative tracks were experienced through headphones & CD players, accompanied by essential oil pairings, in the seated cushion areas.
Visitors were encouraged to take their time in the space to rest and recharge, allowing the sounds to guide their breath.
This project was a part of the What Can We Do? Artist Grant program, presented by Asian American Arts Alliance (A4). What Can We Do? is a grant opportunity for artists looking to support the Asian and AAPI communities in NYC with engaging, creative projects rooted in care.
"Deep listening takes us below the surface of our consciousness and helps to change or dissolve limiting boundaries”
- Pauline Oliveros
- Pauline Oliveros
01
☀︎ a field in flushing meadows. gentleness & grounding.
♩recordings from corona park - cattails, lake, bicycles, birds,
a nature based spoken affirmation, 432hz singing bowl, gongs
༄ lavender
02
☀︎ a covered farm, a stream, rain, grass. resonance & queerness.
♩ rose quartz singing bowls, recordings of rain, excerpts
from queer artists - flutist leanna keith’s ‘body of breath’
album & poet edyka chilomé’s ‘the archive of our relation’
༄ jasmine
03
☀︎ a beach in naples, florida. soul & ease.
♩recordings of seagulls, brown noise, reverbed guitar samples
from the intro of ‘oh honey’ by r&b/soul band delgation,
koshi water bells, ‘awaiting the light’ pad
༄ jasmine
04
☀︎ a hammock at a festival in the catskill mountains. embrace & atmosphere.
♩atmospheric pads from the 1989-1999 jungle sample pack,
recordings of wind chimes from the philippines,
fire crackling, pine needles
༄ eucalyptus
05
☀︎ amidst the waves in puerto rico. warmth & peace.
♩piano inspired by ‘blue bird’ by alexis ffrench,
recordings of the atlantic ocean, puerto rican bird calls
༄ ylang-ylang