Hearing Beyond with Matthew Herbert
A continuation of the former Brady Lecture series, the Goethe Annual Lecture (GAL) invites renowned speakers to reflect on cultural themes central to the Goethe-Institut’s work and pressing issues facing the UK, Germany, and beyond. As part of the Goethe-Institut London’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2022, three GAL events were hosted featuring author Mithu Sanyal, academic Mercedes Bunz, and musician Matthew Herbert.
For the December lecture, the Goethe-Institut welcomed acclaimed musician and composer Matthew Herbert. Best known for his innovative use of sound and his celebrated works such as Bodily Functions and One Pig, Herbert has collaborated with artists ranging from Björk to Dizzee Rascal and created works across theatre, opera, film, and installation.
In his lecture, Herbert explored the potential of sound recordings to challenge the way we perceive the world, asking how systemic listening might lead to meaningful action in the face of global injustices. Through a series of extraordinary recordings, he invited audiences to consider how listening differently could expose and resist the social and economic systems that shape our lives. The event concluded with a Q&A moderated by artist and academic Dr Ella Finer.
To provide audiences with an insight into Herbert’s creative practice and to promote the GAL, the Goethe-Institut London also coordinated a film screening of Herbert’s documentary A Symphony of Noise (2021) in November.
About the project
From June 2021 to December 2024, I worked within the Goethe-Institut London’s Communications team. As Online Editor, I managed the UK’s website, social media, editorial budgets, and digital strategies. For the flagship annual event, I oversaw the entire digital production cycle, from strategy and budget planning to post-event content publication. In addition, I hosted and produced a special Talking Culture podcast episode dedicated to promoting the GAL, extending the event’s reach to new audiences through an engaging audio format.
In the early planning phases, I used data tools such as Webtrekk, Meta Business Suite, and Eventbrite Analytics to compile reports evaluating the performance of previous GAL marketing campaigns and digital content. These findings shaped budget allocation and digital strategy for the upcoming event. I also coordinated with partner organisations on cross-promotional initiatives and compiled audience demographic reports that informed communications and content planning.
Once event details were confirmed, I built the event webpage in our custom CMS and devised cross-platform content to promote the lecture. I led all marketing campaigns across newsletters and social media, preparing tailored content to maximise engagement and ticket sales.
My production tasks included collating event texts, speaker biographies, and visual materials; adapting them to our editorial brand guidelines; translating English-language copy into German; publishing content across digital platforms; and distributing media packs to stakeholders.
During the event, I managed community engagement on livestream chats and social media and coordinated the videographer. Post-event, I worked with the videographer to prepare transcripts, ensured content aligned with editorial standards, published the recording on YouTube, promoted it via social media, and processed invoices for advertisements, social media boosts, and commissioned content.
Through this end-to-end process, I ensured the GAL consistently reached wide and diverse audiences while maintaining the Institute’s brand and editorial standards.