Come Sing Along!
On Raising Our Voices
Alone in the shower, in the car with your children, or together with strangers in a stadium – people sing everywhere. Singing is not just a pastime, but also creates a sense of community, enables us to express our identity and becomes a means of accusation or resistance during protests. When you are not allowed to raise your voice freely or are not heard, singing can also be an act of self-assertion.
The exhibition addressed these issues with sound and video installations, sculptures, drawings, and paintings by more than 20 contemporary artists, many of whom presented their works in Austria for the first time. It dealt with national lied culture, folk singing and modern songs, mourning, resistance, and the reinterpretation of old songs. Some of the artists featured in the exhibition harnessed the power of singing as a strategy for empowerment. They defended themselves against systematic oppression and disenfranchisement by giving minorities a voice. Others explored personal and intimate themes. When practising a song, performing a ballad, or staging an opera, references were made to traditional choral forms as well as pop music. Several works newly created for the exhibition invited visitors to raise their voices as well.
Curators: Hemma Schmutz, Klaus Speidel, Sarah Jonas
Exhibition Design: Jakob Neulinger
Artists
Sammy Baloji, Chto Delat, Michèle Pearson Clarke, Clément Cogitore, Ines Doujak, Noam Enbar, Nikolaus Gansterer, Mathilde ter Heijne, Dejan Kaludjerović, Mikhail Karikis und Uriel Orlow, Helmut und Johanna Kandl, Anton Kolig, Nengi Omuku, Christian Jankowski, Maria Lassnig und Hubert Sielecki, Rory Pilgrim, Ayumi Paul, Gerhard Rühm, Henk Schut, Bartolina Xixa, Bruce Yonemoto, Otto Zitko
Sounding Seeds
At the invitation of the Lentos the artist and trained musician Ayumi Paul has created an audio piece for the exhibition in which, employing her interdisciplinary approach, she addresses the show’s content. The work, part of the Sounding Seeds series and The Singing Project, has been continuously developed by the artist since 2019. It invites listeners to join the artist on an acoustic journey, during which she explores the variety of ways in which sound and song have shaped our world. Paul regards the voice as a medium of resistance. Using examples from history, she narrates the power it contains. With the assistance of brief vocal and breathing exercises, the artist guides listeners in exploring the possibilities of their own voices. The Lentos is presenting the artist’s work for the first time in Austria.
Sounding Seeds
The series “Sounding Seeds” is part of the larger project “The Singing Project”, which Ayumi Paul has been continuously developing since 2019.
Exhibition booklet
The exhibition is accompanied by a comprehensive exhibition booklet in German and English with texts on all the works of art. Download here
Cooperation
In Cooperation with Anton Bruckner Year 2024