Music Beyond Borders
Commissioned by the Brazilian Jewish cultural center Casa do Povo, Yael Bartana’s new work brings together two groups from two different diasporas: Coral Tradição, a Brazilian Jewish choir born out of the now-destroyed Yiddishland (a nation whose borders were defined by the reach of the language itself), and Ilú Obá De Min, an Afro-Brazilian street culture rooted in Canse-Bra music. In Bartana’s practice—which, among other things, involves weaving new possible alliances—her video can be seen as an opportunity to imagine the emergence of collective bodies beyond fixed identity labels.
The work was recorded at the Teatro de Arte Israelita Brasileiro (TAIB), which was built in the basement of the Casa do Povo in 1960. TAIB was created for a future that never quite materialized: the return of Yiddish. Nevertheless, TAIB became a hub for the experimental performing arts scene in São Paulo during the 1960s and 70s, only to later fall into the crisis from which it has yet to emerge. It is amid the ruins of this legendary theater that Bartana imagines a future—between the past and the present, memory and the future, the sung word and collective choreographies.
In collaboration with the Umeå International Film Festival and the Central Council of Jews in Sweden’s anniversary project to celebrate 250 years of Jewish life in Sweden.
English
In diaspora communities, music can be a powerful tool for collectively preserving memories. Along with storytelling, traditional languages, and dancing, songs can serve as a living home for stateless nations.
Commissioned by the Jewish Brazilian art space Casa do Povo, Yael Bartana’s new work brings together two groups from two different diasporas: Coral Tradição, a Jewish Brazilian choir born from the now-destroyed Yiddishland (a nation whose borders were defined by the reach of the Yiddish language itself), and Ilú Obá De Min, an Afro-Brazilian street music ensemble rooted in Candomblé culture. In an effort to forge new alliances, Bartana’s video invites viewers to imagine the emergence of collective entities that transcend fixed identity labels.
The work was filmed at the Teatro de Arte Israelita Brasileiro (TAIB), which was built in the basement of the Casa do Povo in 1960. The TAIB was created for a future that never fully materialized: the revival of the Yiddish language. Nevertheless, it became the dream theater of the experimental performing arts scene in São Paulo in the 1960s and ’70s, only to fall into a crisis from which it has yet to emerge. It is amid the ruins of this legendary theater that Bartana imagines a time to come—between past and present, memory and pre-enactment, the sung word and collective choreographies.
About Yael Bartana
In her films, installations, photographs, staged performances, and public monuments, Yael Bartana explores themes such as national identity, trauma, and displacement, often through ceremonies, memorials, public rituals, and collective gatherings.
Yael Bartana was born in Israel but lives in Berlin and Amsterdam. She has exhibited at several major museums and won many prestigious awards. She represented the German Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and won the Rome Prize of Villa Massimo in 2023/24.
yaelbartana.com
Credit
Yael Bartana, *Mir Zaynen Do (We Are Here!)*, 2024, video still, courtesy of Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam; Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; Galleria Raffaella Cortese, Milan; Petzel Gallery, New York; Capitain Petzel, Berlin; and Cecilia Hillström Gallery, Stockholm; Photo by Pablo Saborido.
