Session
3
CFCP
NEW VOICES
OF IRELAND
SERIES 8
Against The Odds 2:
Open Studios
Viviana Fiorentino
‘Neither here, nor there’- a dialogue between two poets interspersed with reading in Italian, Hungarian and English. Reflection on home and belonging.
Csilla Toldy
In my video poems, just as in poetry, I am interested in layers of meaning. A new entity comes about from the interconnected footage, sound and rhythm.
Intro
‘Neither here, nor there’, or the poetry of migration – A dialogue between two poets interspersed with poetry reading in Italian, Hungarian and English on the themes of belonging, borders and how home can take different forms when viewed from a distance.
To take part in New Voices Ireland Series 8, Italian poet Viviana Fiorentino, and Hungarian poet Csilla Toldy decided to create a poetic dialogue. Viviana wrote her poems in Italian and English, Csilla wrote her poems as responses in English and Hungarian.
We conducted our discussion on zoom and the readings are illustrated by footage. One poem “Pio-neers/Arriving” came about by working remotely, shooting footage from our own environment. The footage and sound was directed and edited by Csilla to create a video poem.
Writing is a solitary activity, and we can only connect with an audience when we read. Unfortunate-ly, due to Covid-19 this direct experience with a community is taken from us at present. The online interview offers an opportunity to connect with each other and with our audience if albeit in an asynchronous manner.
The Work
The Podcast
The Artists
Viviana Fiorentino
Viviana Fiorentino is Italian and lives in Belfast where she teaches Italian literature. An award-winning poet in Italy, her poems, short stories and translations have appeared in international literature magazines (as Nazione Indiana, FourXFour NI, Poethead, The Blue Nib, Paris Lit Up, Mantis – journal of the Stanford University). In 2019, her poems appeared in the anthology ‘Writing Home’ (Dedalus Press); in 2021, in the anthology ‘Days of Clear Light – A Festschrift in Honour of Jessie Lendennie & in Celebration of Salmon Poetry at 40’ (Salmon Poetry). In Italy, she published a poetry collection (Controluna Press), in anthology (Arcipelago Itaca Edizioni) and a novel (Transeuropa Publishing House).
She co-founded two activist poetry initiatives (Sky, You Are Too Big and Letters With Wings) and Le Ortique (forgotten women artists blog).
Since January 2020, she has led creative writing workshops for cultural minorities (Peace IV Project and Quotidian Word of the Street Limited). She has been involved in many different festivals, poetry readings and projects (i.e. Hillsborough Festival of Literature and Ideas 2019, festivals in the Irish Writers Centre in Dublin, LabeLLit 2018-19, Bray Lit Festival, International Literature Festival Berlin). She is a recipient of a SIAP grant (2019 and 2020) from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland to write a collection of poems.
Csilla Toldy
Csilla Toldy’s poetry, short fiction and essays appeared in numerous literary magazines and anthologies. Her poetry collection Red Roots – Orange Sky was published by Lapwing Publications Belfast in 2013, followed by an anthology of short fiction, poetry and memoir with the title “The Emigrant Woman’s Tale” in 2015 and “Vertical Montage” in 2018, which was launched at Dublin Literary Festival. Csilla’s short story collection “Angel Fur and other stories” was published by Stupor Mundi Press, Fife and reviewed in Irish Times.
Csilla has an MA in creative writing for film and TV from Sheffield University. Her scripts won international prizes such as the Hartley-Merrie and Katapult Prize.
Csilla’s video poems were screened at the Videoholica Video Art Festival in Varna, the Mix2 Conference of Digital Writing at Bath University, and at the Lighthouse Art Centre in Poole, UK, during culture nights in Dublin and at Belfast Film Festival. “Bussokusekika” was selected for the ZEBRA International Poetry Film Festival in Munster. The video poem “Belfast Exposed”, she created for New Voices Ireland 7 won Best Street Art Film in Berlin. In 2020 Csilla was commissioned to create a video poem as a public artwork by the Executive Office of Northern Ireland for Holocaust Memorial Day.
csillatoldy.co.uk
Artist statement:
In my video poems, just as in poetry, I am interested in layers of meaning. Like you can read a poem many times and you discover new meanings, the same thing happens with video poems. The connection of text, sound and moving image create a new entity that comes about from the interconnected footage, sound and rhythm.
It was exciting to work with Viviana, for her Italian brought a new musical element into the video poem. Her poems inspired me to respond and to look at elements of my life related to migration, home and languages.
In Pioneers/Arriving I tried to create an overlay of languages, Hungarian and Italian, like an inkblot test in which the ambiguous, meaningless image creates a new meaning in the viewer’s mind. In this case, it is the sound of the two languages. The poems describe our experiences of arriving in North-ern Ireland fifteen years apart. I was pleased that Viviana’s poem ended with so much hope and warmth, representing the change in society, too.
Open Call
Call for submissions for visual arts and multidisciplinary projects by or involving migrant and culturally diverse artists for the Centre for Creative Practices’ 2025 programme
Deadline – 25/02/2024
Intro
The Centre for Creative Practices invites submissions from PROFESSIONAL migrant and culturally diverse artists and local artists working with culturally diverse artists for our 2025 visual arts and multidisciplinary programme. We especially welcome participatory, collaborative, multidisciplinary and experimental proposals by individual artists and collectives. All projects have to include an artist’s talk and a participatory workshop for audiences.
We are inviting project proposals for two strands of our programme:
- New Voices of Ireland Series
- Third Space
The
Programme
THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES aims to offer broad audiences a unique chance to engage with high-quality work by selected migrant and culturally diverse artists of various disciplines.
THIRD SPACE – collaborative projects between migrant and culturally diverse artists
Artists’ fees, production and marketing costs will be covered, and curatorial and production support will be offered by CFCP for the selected project. Up to 10 projects will be selected.
How to
apply
Interested artists should submit ONE SINGLE PDF document containing the following information:
- Project/Exhibition proposal – 500 words max
- CV/History of artistic practice – max 1 A4 page
- 6 images of recent work – with titles and medium, where appropriate with dimensions
- Artistic workshop proposal
- Project budget
- Proposed timeline venue
Please submit your proposals via email to monika@cfcp.ie In the subject line please state: Programme proposal 2025, CFCP
Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch via email monika@cfcp.ie or just give us a call at 086-6084020.
The submission deadline is Sunday – 25/02/2024. Late applications will not be accepted.
CFCP
CFCP is committed to professionally supporting, effectively showcasing and developing the talent of migrant artists, offering tailored artistic and capacity-building programmes, mentoring, and resources, and helping artists to access the local arts scene and build sustainable careers.
Migrant-centred and migrant-led, CFCP is acknowledged as a pioneer and catalyst for promoting cultural diversity, intercultural collaboration and exchange.
Join In
BACKGROUND TO THE NEW VOICES OF IRELAND SERIES
The New Voices of Ireland Series is a flagship project of integrative, cultural practice between migrant and local artists as well as audiences curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Practices.
The New Voices of Ireland Series aims to:
- Connect creative talent from new communities and various social groups from all over Ireland
- Give migrant and culturally diverse artists an opportunity to share their work and talent with a wide local and international audience
- Engage artists to express their views on social challenges and the role of culture in modern society through artistic practice
The New Voices of Ireland Series is kindly supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
Queries: If you have any questions, please contact monika@cfcp.ie or call 086-6084020
