Can you call a touch?

‘Can you call a touch?’ is an ongoing research project with English Change Ringing at it’s centre. The project looks to ringing traditions, performances and ringers’ communication as points of entry – as well as Emily coming from a ringing family in rural Warwickshire.

Many arms reach into the centre where five bell ropes are held together on a hook mechanism.
Still from ‘Can You Call A Touch?’ short film, 2026. Credit: the artist.
Inside a church glass doors atop a staircase open onto a small ringing room where three bell ringings stand arms raised ready to ring.
Still from ‘Can You Call A Touch?’ short film, 2026. Credit: the artist.
Handdrawn chart of bell ringing goals with some sections coloured in.
Emily’s ‘Sherbourne Teaching Aid Number 8’. Credit: the artist.
Emily hugs a large church bell with her back to the camera.
Emily working with the bells at Bishops Itchington church, 2023. Credit: the artist.

Emily was awarded a DYCP from Arts Council England to spend time researching and developing new work in relation to this, which was completed in 2023.

If you want to get in touch regarding this project, please send me an email at hello [at] emilyroderick.com

Updates on the project:

Future Artefacts Episode, April 2026

Future Artefacts invited Emily onto the show as part of their mini series ‘As a choir’.

“What does it mean to amplify a collective voice through collective performance? How do traditions like bell ringing persist, evolve, or disappear, and what do strange histories reveal about their cultural significance?

​Emily Roderick was the 4th and final guest of our ‘as a chorus’ mini series, sharing personal anecdotes, recordings, and sounds inside bell towers from her ongoing project Can You Call A Touch. In this episode, we focussed on her research around bell ringing, a deeply social, intergenerational practice that sits somewhere between music, ritual and public communication.”

Learn more about Future Artefacts.

Recording went live 5th April 2026.

Fun with Bells Podcast Episode, March 2023

Emily spoke with Cathy Booth on the Fun with Bells podcast about her new funding and project ideas.

“This thought-provoking episode sees host Cathy Booth catch up with Emily Roderick, who after volunteering to support the podcast now finds herself featuring in it!

One of the age-old questions that ringers rarely agree on is ‘what exactly is ringing?’ – is it a sport, is it music, or is it art? Ringer and artist Emily is currently exploring ringing from the perspective of performance art, with an Arts Council England grant to boot. What follows is a fascinating discussion into the creative process and where imagination can lead to.”

Learn more about Fun with Bells Podcast.

Recording published 9th March 2023.

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