Een nyeu liedeken examines the representative self-image in Flemish vocal folk songs. Who is speaking and how does this voice relate to ‘the other’? Do we know our own cultural-historical truth regimes and how do we deal with the remnants?
Five folk songs, written down in Antwerp between 1544 and 1944, function as research objects. Inspired by conversations with heritage specialists, folk music practitioners, politicians and newcomers, a network of current interpretations of the repertoire will be put together.
Each song is linked to an urban space in Antwerp, where new alliances between arts, crafts, activism and the city are being created. Young artists based in these spaces will be confronted with a question: how do you connect to this repertoire today?
Their versions of the songs are the primary ingredient of five audio performances at location. Voices from our field research will be integrated; guest speakers are being interviewed live; the audience participates in an introspective after-talk. The evenings are edited into podcast episodes and made available online.
(c) Vivian Klein
