International Shepherd’s Culture Project 2023

The participants should be willing to learn about the whistled language ‘Sfyria’ and/or the ‘Kaba Gayda’ bagpipe. The selected participants will spend a week in either of the locations in an open format workshop. They will exchange knowledge and practice, gather material in situ, communicate with the locals and learn from a master whistler or bagpipe player/craftsman. After completion of the workshop, the participants will be given three months to produce a work to be featured in two exhibitions in Athens and Sofia. The purpose of these events is to transfer the knowledge generated during the workshops to a wider public in the capitals.

The project wishes to critically examine the interconnectedness of the two regions as a part of a wider Mediterranean cultural area. Its purpose is to gain an insight into forms of communication transmedial by nature, positioned between speaking, singing, and playing an instrument. It seeks to study various modes of thinking and to approach the cultural phenomena from a linguistic, anthropological, philosophical, holistic, and purely aural/physical standpoint.

The whistled language of Antia and the particular form of bagpipe of The Rhodope Mountains are unique cultural expressions of the Southeast European region. Even though both localities share a common historical development, the ethnographical and anthropological conditions have led to the development of unique means of expression. Understanding both communities and their aesthetics, materiality, and politics, all of which contributed to the emergence of the cultural phenomena, will provide valid points for understanding music and language as mediums shaping our contemporary society.

Both Antia and The Rhodope Mountains had thriving shepherd’s communities, which developed unique means of expression. In Antia, the whistled language ‘Sfyria’ was used by shepherds to communicate across large distances. In The Rhodope Mountains, an instrument known as the ‘Kaba Gayda’ was developed – a unique type of bagpipe. The instrument consisting of a sheep’s skin, wood and bone was used by shepherds to keep them company on their walks with the animals across The Rhodope Mountains to the Aegean Sea coast. These unique cultural forms of expression are facing a common issue. Due to primarily economic factors fewer people are left in both localities – traditional shepherding is no longer a viable way to earn a living. According to the “UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger,” no other language in Europe has fewer living speakers than ‘Sfyria.’ In The Rhodope Mountains there are only 3 masters, all of advanced age, able to produce a ‘Kaba Gayda’ of the highest quality.

The workshops in Antia will be held in the first week of April 2023. The workshop in The Rhodope Mountains will be held in the first week of May. The exhibition in Sofia will happen in October 2023. The exhibition in Athens will happen in December 2023.

The application is open to artists and scientists of all fields, who have worked with the topic of the project or wish to do so in their future practice. Three artists and three scientists will be chosen for each of the locations. Travel expenses, accommodation for the workshop and working fee of €1000 per participant will be provided.

Application package should consist of a single PDF containing:

• CV. Max 2 pages
• Portfolio. Selected works, max 5 pages
• Motivation. Max 300 words
• Project proposal. Max 500 words
• Production budget overview (where applicable)

to be sent at [email protected] by the deadline on 15 March 2022. Results will be announced on 31 March 2022. Please visit ArtRelated's website for more information.