„IT'S FICTION LIKE A SITCOM“*
Workshop + Listening Sessions with Paloma Nana and Sophia Spies aka FAIRA
9 March, 7—8:30 p.m.
This event aspires to open a space for questions around the family that is primarily nourished sensually, emotionally, artistically, and sonically. In the framework of the exhibition "Unruly Kinships", this workshop series aims to step away from a purely academic reading and explores the discourse mainly through the sonic and the sensual.
How are questions around family politics and kinship, forms of the social and communalisation sonified, idealised and/or problematised in both popular and subculture? How pervasive is such a (sonic) discourse? What stylistic devices and symbolisms are invoked? How are these historically/culturally rooted and to what extent can popular culture exceed the academic text?
We will, amongst others, look into notions of (Afro-diasporic) sisterhood and shared ancestrality in a postcolonial age as we also address the (neoliberal) iconization of the family in contemporary pop culture. Moreover, a central premise will be the question as to what extent, in particular, the visual depiction of Black parenthood can be viewed as a decolonising practice that operates against a policy that relegates Black subjects to the matrix of the dysfunctional, prone to crises.
Each session starts with a short input to set the sound piece/music video that is to be analysed in a specific context. You will receive a short reading, either in the form of an academic essay, a poem, an article or a song text, to get attuned to the session. The reading of this material is optional. Together we will watch and discuss one or a maximum of two music videos/sound pieces per session. We also invite you to contribute with your own selection of sound pieces/music videos in order to develop a collective sound archive that will be made accessible on the Temporary Gallery's website. There will be also an opportunity to artistically engage yourself, write poems, short stories, or music that you might want to share during the sessions.
The last session on 20.04. will not only be co-curated musically but also with regard to its content by the singer, lyricist and guitarist Sophia Spies aka FAIRA. More about the content of this session will follow shortly.
This workshop series is a cohesive event. The individual sessions are interrelated content-wise, so it would be nice if you tried to attend all four sessions.
The sessions will be held in German or English as needed.
Please send your registrations to: pn@temporarygallery.org
FAIRA is the folk-experimental project of singer, lyricist and guitarist Sophia Spies (DE). In her melancholically infused songs she reflects dreamlike and situational encounters with herself and the world, which she consistently continues to weave symbolically through associative relations. Through her understanding of songwriting, she creates a strong imagery that is underlined and coloured by classical and playful guitar arrangements, in combination with experimental lo-fi elements. After releasing her first studio album "The Talk" in April 2020, featuring her sister Nathalie Litzner (violin, vocals) and brother Leonhard Spies (guitar, bass guitar) as well as Andrew Collberg (drums), Faira released her third album "Fireflies and Bats (Or a Predictable Series of Waltzes)" just one year later in May 2021.
Paloma Nana is not only a so called ‘sandwich kid‘ but also one of two social responsibility coordinators and ombudspersons at Temporary Gallery - Centre for contemporary art in Cologne (Germany), She is particularly interested in exploring the transformative potential of alternative, cultural education through collaborative practice. She currently works as a student researcher at the Research Training Group Cultures of Critique at Leuphana University in Lüneburg (Germany) and occasionally organizes events for the accompanying programme at Temporary Gallery. Her practice as the latter is profoundly informed by her enthusiasm for music and (Afro-diasporan) sub- and pop cultures.
*Mykki Blanco in „Family Ties“
Image
Mykki Blanco - Family Ties (Official Video) ft. Michael Stipe
