On May 24, Oemoemenoe #7: Clouds, Winds and Voices will be presented in the reading room of the Zeeuws Archief. This collaborative performance marks the outcome of an eight-part workshop series led by artist Maria Klaassen-Andrianova, initiated by Vleeshal in collaboration with participants of the social art project Pennywafelhuis and the Toonbeeld choir.

Throughout the workshop period, Klaassen-Andrianova and the participants explored artistic interpretations of (forced) migration histories and the notion of home, with a particular focus on lullabies. These songs—affective, intergenerational vessels of language and care—have been documented and reimagined in new choral arrangements developed by the Toonbeeld choir.

The final presentation includes spoken word, poetry recitals, and live choral works, forming a multilingual lecture-performance in which a cloud takes centre stage. As a figure constantly displaced by winds, the cloud shares what it has witnessed–drifting across guarded borders, sand and seas, peaceful lands and war zones, loss and hope. The voice of the cloud activates the reading room of the Zeeuws Archief—a repository of regional memory—to include the lived experiences of people from all over the world living in Zeeland today.

The event will also include the launch of a songbook which documents the workshops that shaped the project and the lullabies that were shared during these gatherings.

Clouds, Winds and Voices is presented as part of Oemoemenoe, a series of projects that are part of Vleeshal’s Local Nomadic Program that began in 2023. For Oemoemenoe, artists are invited to collaborate with local associations, organisations and businesses across Zeeland—from church towers to sports clubs—to create site-specific projects that bring contemporary art into everyday contexts and offer new ways of relating to place.

This project continues the collaboration between Vleeshal and Pennywafelhuis, following their earlier joint project If You Do It Well, I Will Do It Better by Zahar Bondar, the first edition of Oemoemenoe. Pennywafelhuis brings together a melting pot of cultures. It is an inclusive social-artistic project in an apartment in the Dauwendaele neighborhood, where individuals with various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds reside. Pennywafelhuis is the home for a range of activities that take place at various studios, the garden, and the market hall.

Events

24 May

Oemoemenoe #7: Clouds, Winds and Voices

2 – 3 pm 

Zeeuws Archief

Free Entrance