STEM SONG is a collaborative sound artwork and acoustic response to the native salal plant, created with third-grade music students at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School in NE Portland.

Grounded in land stewardship and botanical knowledge, the project began at the Wind River Arboretum - one of the oldest arboretums in the Pacific Northwest - where groundskeepers invited Gili Rappaport to gather salal plants harvested during ongoing forest restoration efforts.

Brought into the classroom, the salal plant served as a catalyst for sensory exploration and sound-making. Rappaport shared naturopathic and botanical histories of the plant with the students, who then collaborated with local musician Taiyah Simone to improvise experimental acoustic responses. Simone recorded and remixed these student sessions into an original soundscape.

The project culminated in a live listening performance and gathering during Assembly, KSMoCA’s annual social practice conference, where the class assembled to listen, reflect, and honor human-plant kinship through shared sound.

Exhibitions, Conferences & Publications

• Conference Presentation: Assembly, Annual Social Practice Art Conference at King School Museum of Contemporary Art (June 2023)

• Related Publication: Stem Song Stickers (Ed. KSMoCA)

• Lead Artists & Facilitators: Gili Rappaport and Taiyah Simone

• Classroom Educator: Emma Downing

• 3rd-Grade Student Sound Artists: Alice, Armani, Aubree, Chase, Danielle, Davon, Emily Claire, Georgia, Jinzen, Josephine, Kyleigh, Magdalena, Ma’Laeyah, Mariana, Milan, Naomi, Nazier, Sarahi, Ra’Kiya, River, Robin, Romely, Romeo, Rosa, Ursula, Walter, Win

• Institutional & Community Support: Wind River Trust, Lisa Jarrett, Adrian Ruth Williams, Alexis Johnson, Lillyanne Pham, Teresa Seidel, Mr. Monty