Projects
Urban Kelpies: Awakening the River, Govan and Levadia, October 2020
In Levadia in Greece, Ira Brami is producing one of two parts of this project, Urban Kelpies: Awakening the River, a video work to capture her feeling for the River Clyde from her visit to Govan in September last year.
In collaboration with Scottish activist Helen Kyle, a corresponding video has been made by spoken word poets and local musicians in Govan accompanied by rituals around the water. You can watch the Scottish video below:
As above, so below, Gdańsk, October 2019
For the first residency in Gdańsk, I was very open to what could inspire me for the project. I was trying, through every detail, to capture the vibe of the city. I also wanted to research stories about the history of the city and the shipyard. So to combine all these influences, I decided to create an experimental performance in collaboration with young people from Gdańsk. I walked all around the shipyard, visited many places in the city, and met former shipyard worker, Mrs. Ula Ściubeł.
During our meeting I became emotional listening to her story so I asked if she would like to perform as herself, a retired employee of the shipyard. She liked the idea and agreed. So the performance already had a good starting point! The second residency was a really intensive time, I had meetings with Mrs. Ula Ściubeł, rehearsals with the theatre school group and with a professional actress who came from Greece to take part in the performance. The target was to involve young people in creative ways with stories of the shipyard. I think we achieved this. When I look back on the whole process up to the final performance, I have a big smile and a lot of deep emotions for all the people I met to realise this project.
Image: As above, so below (2019) a collaborative performance directed by Ira Brami at the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre, October 2019. Photograph by Piotr Perkiewicz.
