Transmissions sound art residency exchange program: From Ano Syros to Northern Norway

Anna Papaeti, a Greece-based researcher/practitioner focusing on the relationship between sound and trauma, especially in situations of detention, has been invited to collaborate with Maia Urstad, a Norway-based artist working at the intersection of audio and visual arts with a special interest in archival practices and technologies on the verge of obsoletion. The two artists were invited to spend a week together in Greece (June 2021) and a further week together in Norway (September 2021), accompanied by Greek intermedia duo acte vide, who provided the original theme & conceptual background for the residency exchange, and took on the role of artist-respondents for both field visits.

The residency at Syros was organized by Syros Sound Meetings in partnership with Syros Institute.

“For Syros, the complex layers of Gyaros’ histories resound primarily through their silencing. The first part of this residency exchange became an attempt to delve deeper into these silences, investigating the relationship between Syros and Gyaros through interviews with older generation inhabitants of Ano Syros, field recordings in Syros and Gyaros, and sensory auto-ethnographies in both islands. With the cooperation of the Syros branch of WWF, the team had the opportunity to make a guided exploration across the five main beaches of Gyaros, including the remains of the prison and hospital buildings and exile camp settlements.”

In collaboration with the North Norwegian Art Center (NNKS) located at Svolvær, Lofoten, the artists spent a week at Vardø conducting a series of interviews and field recordings and visiting local museums and heritage sites.

“This second part of the residency was a deeply immersive and dense experience. It comprised a combination of visits to local museums and heritage sites (such as the Steilneset memorial, the Pomor and Partisan museums and the abandoned fishing village of Hamningberg), structured meetings with historians and representatives of local organizations such as the Coastal Riot, informal dinners and open discussions with residency participants and other artists and curators, and daily fieldwork in the form of interviews (Papaeti and Urstad) and peripatetic notes and recordings (acte vide).”

On Wednesday, April 13th, the project participants will be back in the island of Syros, to share a sample of their ongoing work, based on recordings and interviews conducted during their fieldwork in Syros and Gyaros, in June 2021. Moreover, the “Transmissions” curatorial team will present some of the motivational questions and challenges that emerged through this groundbreaking collaboration, initiating a dialogue with a wider range of local stakeholders, including artists, researchers, educators, and community groups.

Wednesday 13 April
18:00–20:00
Syros Institute — Syros Cultural Research Center*
Ano Syros

*Free admission, on a first come first served basis. Reservations via e-mail at soundmeetings@gmail.com.