UKARIA honours our First Nations by fostering a shared sense of respect for this land, and we acknowledge and pay our respects to the Peramangk, traditional custodians of the land on which the Cultural Centre stands.
FINDING OUR VOICE
In December 2020, we announced that UKARIA had been successful in applying to be supported by the Australian Government's Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) program to produce Finding Our Voice: Australian Stories Through Music – an ambitious reimagining of the music festival for our time, our people and our place.
Supported by Ulrike Klein AO, the Berg Family Foundation, The Yulgilbar Foundation, The Aranday Foundation, Playking Foundation and Julie Kantor AO, Finding Our Voice creates a national network; commissions eight musical works and presents standalone live performances for audiences in eight locations worldwide. Central to the project is the recognition that music comes from many voices; that grassroots engagement and education have significant impact by building strong, vibrant communities.
Finding Our Voice is also a digital festival, creating and sharing experiences, skills and resources online with diverse audiences and communities. Under the artistic direction of recorder virtuoso and sound artist Genevieve Lacey and working with partner venues across Australia, Finding Our Voice reflects the scope and vibrancy of modern Australian art music, encourage engagement from audiences and non-professional music makers, and will showcase new musical works by a host of the nation's most innovative creative practitioners.
SUNNY KIM
MOTHERLAND, MOTHERTONGUE
'Sunny Kim's gentle, generous artistry is balm for our times. She invites us into her radiant, powerful creations with intelligence and care.'
– Genevieve Lacey
At the heart of MotherTongue, MotherLand is a poetic response to motherhood, with specific reference to migrant experiences, as all these amazing musicians, or their mothers, were born somewhere other than Australia. MotherTongue, MotherLand is intended to create an intimate and safe space in which family stories of longing, belonging, joy and pain are shared and celebrated. In the premiere of the new work, listeners will be invited to connect across culture and language through spoken to sung, structured to improvised, and traditional to experimental sonic narratives.
Sunny Kim | Composer / Vocals
Helen Svoboda | Double Bass
Aviva Endean | Clarinets
Mindy Weng Wang | Guzheng
Gelareh Pour | Kamancheh / Qeychak / Vocals
MotherTongue, MotherLand is commissioned and presented by Sydney Opera House, enabled by New Work Now, in association with UKARIA and Finding Our Voice.