14–30 MAY
GARDENS SPEAK Tania El Khoury (Lebanon)
19 – 30 May 222 Arts Club
19 – 21, 26 – 28 May, Wed – Fri 6pm, 7.30pm & 9pm
22, 23, 29, 30 May, Sat & Sun 11am, 12.30pm, 3.30pm, 5pm, 8pm & 9.30pm
MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR The world has changed dramatically in the last year. This is an extraordinary time for artists, where we have been asking ourselves: how can we still bring you great art and recreate the magic of the live experience? This is an enormous challenge, one which requires creativity, boldness and determination. With over 60 productions and over 300 performances, SIFA 2021 has been curated as a direct response to the here and now. It is a response to the care and compassion we need for ourselves, our community and our environment. It features exceptional artistes and companies who have learnt to adapt and present work that can reach audiences around the world, using a variety of technologies. And it will feature a record number of Singaporean commissions and collaborations. Besides shows that will take place in theatres and unique spaces around Singapore, SIFA 2021 will allow you to interact with artists “live” from around the world. There won’t be any shows that you watch passively on a screen. You can also expect the return of festival favourites such as our popular film offering, Singular Screens, as well as Festival House – the epicentre of the festival. It’s been an honour to helm our national festival and see it grow in stature, both at home and internationally, over the past four years. None of this would have been possible without the support of the incredible team at Arts House Ltd who have worked tirelessly to make this happen, and especially their Herculean efforts of mounting a festival of this scale during a pandemic. In a time where most of us can’t travel, SIFA looks forward to bringing the world to you, and Singaporean artists to the world. See you at SIFA 2021.
Gaurav Kripalani Festival Director
A NOTE FROM
TANIA EL KHOURY
GARDENS SPEAK
Interactive Sound Installation
TANIA EL KHOURY
In memory of my dear friend Roula Ayoubi, the ten martyrs whose stories make Gardens Speak, and those who continue to die in their quest for freedom.
In 2011, I saw an image of a mother digging a grave for her son in the garden of their home. The image was from Syria, and it carried with it the horrors of the costs of the uprising, the transformation of domestic and safe spaces into morbid and mourning spaces, and the reality of the Syrian regime’s crackdown on its rebellious population. Three years later, domestic and public gardens continue to be transformed into unofficial burial places for the thousands of dead across Syria. By concealing the bodies of martyrs under the soil (often without a tombstone), these gardens play out a continuing collaboration between the living and the dead. On the one hand, the dead protect the living by not exposing them to further danger at the hands of the regime, which has targeted funerals and the celebration of martyrdom. On the other hand, the living protect the dead by conserving their identities and their stories in the ground, by not allowing their deaths to become instruments for the regime in its attempts to alter reality and author the historical narrative. Even now, some bodies remain missing from families who have been—in many cases—forced to sign doctored statements claiming that terrorist gangs killed their loved ones, thus forcing the living to betray the dead. Death is not enough to rid oneself of the Asad regime’s tyranny. The oppression follows people even after their death, forcing a narrative upon them, either stealing their bodies or depriving them from being celebrated as martyrs. It is in this context that telling the stories of ordinary people, writing their names on tombstones, and singing for them is a necessary act of resistance. Gardens Speak is an interactive sound installation based on the oral histories of ten ordinary people who were buried in gardens across Syria. Each narrative has been carefully constructed with the friends and family members of the deceased to retell their stories as they themselves may have recounted it. They are compiled with audio and video traces of their final moments.
Photo by Tania El Khoury
Even the dead will not be safe from the enemy if he wins
“
“
Walter Benjamin
ABOUT
GARDENS SPEAK An intimate and poetic sound installation set in a Syrian garden, Gardens Speak invites you to listen to ten soulful narratives by placing your head on the ground. One of today’s most provocative artists returns to the gardens of Syria as the setting for this powerful work. Lebanese-British artist Tania El Khoury tenderly recreates the memories and stories of a people under siege. Away from the war-ravaged streets, the dead bodies of activists and protestors from the early periods of the Syrian uprising are quietly laid to rest in gardens across the city.
In Gardens Speak, El Khoury invites you listen to the oral histories of ten ordinary people who were buried in these Syrian gardens. Each narrative has been carefully constructed with the friends and family members of the deceased to retell their stories as they themselves may have recounted it. They are compiled with found audio that evidences their final moments. Just like the dead protect the living by not exposing them to further danger at the hands of the regime, we – the living – protect the dead by telling their stories, and not allowing their deaths to become instruments to the regime. Lay your head quietly to the ground, and let the sounds from beneath speak to you – in a quietly powerful work that embraces life, death and the human condition.
CREDITS Interactive Sound Installation Performance Tania El Khoury Production Assistant and Audience Guide Naya Salame Production Manager Jessica Harrington Research Assistant and Writer (Arabic) Kinana Issa English Translation Ziad Abu-Rish Calligraphy and Tombstones Design Dia Batal Set Design Abir Saksouk Sound Recording & Editing Khairy Eibesh (Stronghold Sound) Produced by Artsadmin
Hassan Hassan’s text was written by his friend Abo Gabi Sound Programming Barbara Lambert Recording Assistant Petra Serhal Voice Artists Zac Allaf, Khaled Omran, Mais Istanbuli, Khairy Eibesh, Abir Saksouk, Petra Serhal, Hadi Deaibes, Ahmad Hafez & Hani Al Sawah Singing Abo Gabi: “Huna al-Yarmouk”, “Ya Sham” Nibras Chehayed: “Yuma Mwali al-Hawa” from Tomorrow I Will Pass by Abounaddara Laura Whitticase: “Yuma Mwali al-Hawa” Guitar in Ahmad Bawabeh’s sound piece: Majd Hamwi
SPECIAL THANKS TO Everyone who contributed to this project - especially the families and friends of the ten martyrs who were willing to share with us their stories while still in mourning. Co-commissioned by Fierce Festival (UK) and Next Wave Festival (Australia) Developed through the Artsadmin Artists’ Bursary Scheme Supported by Arts Council of England and British Council
Photo by Jesse Hunniford
AN INTERVIEW WITH
TANIA EL KHOURY Tania El Khoury (TEK), the artist behind this work shares:
How do you feel about being part of Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) 2021? TEK: It’s equally brilliant and sad that my work is visiting Singapore before I get to visit it. I would have loved to be there in person but I’m happy that my work is being shared with your audience. What can audiences look forward to for your programme? TEK: Bearing witness to other people’s stories, embodying other political realities, being immersed in all their senses into the work. I generally wish that audiences come out of the work meditative and reflective while also being challenged and moved. What was the inspiration behind the work that will be presented as part of SIFA 2021? TEK: I never know how to answer this question. It’s never one tangible thing or event that inspire me. Often the work comes out of rage rather than inspiration. These works were born from frustration, grief, and lots of solidarity. How has the pandemic influenced your process in creating this work? TEK: These works were created before the pandemic. The current lockdown situation in the world is threatening the very nature of live work so it is a challenging time for people working with interactivity, intimacy, and liveness but also an opportunity for us to think about our relationship and responsibility towards our audience.
Photo by Jeanette Nevarez
ABOUT
TANIA EL KHOURY Tania El Khoury is a live artist creating installations and performances focused on audience interactivity and concerned with the ethical and political potential of such encounters. She is a Distinguished Artist in Residence of Theater and Performance and Director of the OSUN Center for Human Rights & The Arts at Bard College, New York. Her work has been presented in multiple languages across six continents. She was a 2019 Soros Art Fellow and the recipient of the Bessies Outstanding Production Award, the International Live Art Prize, the Total Theatre Innovation Award, and the Arches Brick Award. Tania holds a PhD in Performance Studies from Royal Holloway, University of London. She is associated with Forest Fringe collective of artists in the UK and is a cofounder of Dictaphone Group in Lebanon, a research and performance collective aiming at questioning our relationship to the city, and redefining its public space.
Photo by Jesse Hunniford
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As the COVID-19 situation in Singapore evolves, these measures will be updated in accordance to the latest advisories issued by the Singapore Government. For the latest advisories, please visit sifa.sg All information is correct at the time of print. Every reasonable care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information within, hence, Singapore International Festival of Arts (SIFA) cannot accept responsibility for errors and/or omissions however caused. Every effort has been made to identify copyright holders. We deeply regret that if, despite our concerted efforts, any copyright holders have been overlooked or omitted. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the official policy and position of SIFA and their related corporations. Any reproduction, retransmission, republication, or other use of all or part of this publication is expressly
GARDENS SPEAK
Interactive Sound Installation
TANIA EL KHOURY
prohibited, unless prior written permission has been granted by SIFA or the appropriate copyright owner. SIFA reserves the right to make changes and modifications to the programme without prior notice. For updates, please visit our website at sifa.sg
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