A Room That Sings at Dalby Forest

Explore our latest immersive art installation, A Room That Sings, created by renowned multimedia artist Nayan Kulkarni, and including material created by artist Jez riley-French. This innovative piece invites you to experience the forest in a new way, blending natural and symphonic sounds to reveal the hidden layers of this vibrant landscape.

Since 2021, Nayan Kulkarni has been recording the forest’s diverse sounds using specialized microphones, capturing noises from unexpected places — inside trees, fences, ant nests, and streams. These unique elements are woven into a soundscape that evolves over time. Sometimes purely natural, sometimes more musical, the composition reflects the organic rhythms of Dalby Forest, mixing real-world sounds with electronic elements. Alongside the audio experience, A Room That Sings is also a striking structure. Designed by Kulkarni and funded by Arts Council England, the structure is made from Douglas Fir and mirrors the surrounding forest. The design lowers external sound and its simple interior encouraging visitors to listen deeply.

Location and Visitor Information

Where to find A Room That Sings

The sculpture is located along a section of the Woodcock Way. Parking at Crosscliff, head down the Crosscliff viewpoint trail. Take a left once your reach the viewpoint and continue along the track keeping your view to your right. The sculpture will be on your left.

Click here for the what3words location.

Artist Biography

Nayan Kulkarni’s arts practice encompasses sound, video and light installations. His ambitious place specific works respond to their locations in respect to their landscapes, architectures and  histories. Alongside A Room That Sings he is currently creating Circus a new permanent architectural scale video installation for the National Science & Media Museum, Bradford and developing sound, light and video works in his studio. Recent major installations include the sound and video installation Pilgrim for Selby Abbey (2019) and the light work A Drawing For Sir John Soane for Sir John Soane’s Museum (2023).

Trained at Birmingham and the Slade Schools of Art, Nayan Kulkarni completed a PhD at the RCA in 2020. His critical writing has been published internationally including Emerging Identities in the Futures of Place (Springer Series. 2020), and Walking Cities: London (Routledge, 2020). Professional awards include the ACTA Eastern Eye Award for Arts 2017 and a Civic Award for Blade; a Chester Civic Society and an AHRC Award for Hryre; while Mirrie Dancers received a Scottish Arts Council Inspire and an Esmé Fairburn Project Award.

Nayan Kulkarni lives and works in Suffolk.