Family / lullabies
Collecting lullabies across the city
Roxana Vilk, a multi-disciplinary artist with both British and Iranian heritage, has been collecting lullabies sung in all the language used throughout Bristol.
Roxana has worked in music, film, TV and live performance, with her work often exploring the ideas of cultural identity and migration.
………………………………
is needed now More than ever
Bristol24/7 relies on your support to fund our independent journalism and social impact projects. Become a member and enjoy exclusive perks from just £5 per month.
………………………………
91 languages are spoken within the city and the artist has so far collected lullabies from countries including Hungary, Somalia, Iran, Kurdistan, Ireland, Spain and Germany.
Roxana leads a lullaby collecting session at Easton Community Centre
“I have been singing Iranian songs to my boys as lullabies, since they were babies, and it is the one moment of the day when I feel this strong invisible thread connecting me back to my motherland and passing that heritage on to my children,” says Roxana.
“It is also in that magical moment that my kids might ask me about their grandparents, or about the landscapes and culture of a country they have never been able to visit.
“After speaking to others who are of mixed heritage, and face a similar challenge of how to keep our mother tongues and cultures alive I realised there was scope to dive deeper into this subject but through music, as music has no borders, can touch us all and unites us rather than divides us.”
Roxana has found that the “invitation to share a lullaby become a much deeper, more meaningful conversation” about identity, heritage and homelands.
The project is still in early stages, with the artist hoping to collect even more lullabies. “I am spending the next few months gathering more lullabies from across communities through workshops as well as one to one interviews and recordings,” says Roxana. “I’m also building a soundproof lullaby rickshaw which will make its way around Bristol.”
Once as many lullabies have been collected as possible, a show and exhibition will be held at the Trinity Centre in November 2020 to celebrate the diversity of Bristol.
Find out more at www.roxanavilk.com/lullabies. Get in contact with Roxana at roxanavilk@gmail.com.
Main photo by Alexa Ledecky
Read more: Sustainable nappy store to open
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
