Caroline Bergvall: Conference (after Sweeney) with: Vahni Capildeo, Ceara Conway, Vera Regan, Geoff Sample, James L. Smith and David Wallace with live processing from sound artist Rob Blazey

Inspired by ancient classics dealing with travel and migration through the allegories of birds, Conference (after Sweeney) blends live discussion and field recordings of migratory birds to create a subtle and immersive acoustic experience. Part of Bergvall’s Sonic Atlas series of works which explore issues of location, poetic performance and multiple languages, Conference (after Sweeney) takes as its starting-point the well-known medieval Irish epic poem of mad King Sweeney (Buile Suibhne), who was transformed into a bird and cursed to roam above the land in perpetual metamorphic exile.

Caroline Bergvall is joined by singer and visual artist Ceara Conway; Trinidadian Scottish writer Vahni Capildeo; Professor of Sociolinguistics Vera Regan; ornithologist and sound artist Geoff Sample; medievalist David Wallace; and geographer James L. Smith. With sound artist and programmer Rob Blazey.

Get a taster and watch CONFERENCE (After Attar) by Caroline Bergvall HERE

More about Caroline Bergvall

This new version of Conference is commissioned by International Literature Festival Dublin. Originally commissioned by Whitstable Biennale in 2018

Programmed by ILFDublin with the support of the Royal Norwegian Embassy Dublin and NORLA. Funded by Arts Council England