O Canto das Mulheres do Mar

This project and documentary stem from an artistic residency during the Pico Zen Festival on Pico Island, Azores.

Conceived by Rui Miguel Aires after a challenge from Luís Bidarra (the festival organizer), it arose from the inspiration of a program within the Creative Europe initiative to promote culture in the Outermost and Insular Regions, focusing on women in the creative industry.

The work began by inviting several female artists with connections to the islands and the local artistic community. Five women accepted the invitation to create from scratch a research project about the women of the islands historically linked to music and culture. Poems were chosen, and musical compositions were initiated.

Over six months of periodic virtual meetings, the skeleton of the entire work for the actual artistic residency was created. This residency occurred in the week before the festival. During these seven days, the artists were finally physically together and created eight original pieces.

From this work and months of research emerged a larger mission: to honor the role of women artists in the islands, past and present. Those who had the courage or the right conditions for their gifts to be expressed, but also those whose voices were silenced or whose work went unrecognized or uncelebrated.

The goal is to inspire and support the new generation. It's urgent to have more women instrumentalists, singers, conductors, but also electricians, fisherwomen, those who wield a shovel to build their homes.

It's essential to emphasize that this residency wouldn't exist if women were already dignified equally and justly today.

Production Team: Rui Miguel Aires, João Sousa, and Carla Natário

YouTube Video Link

Artists:

• Antonella Barletta: Piano, Composition
• Catarina Terra: Voice, Composition
• Gianna de Toni: Double Bass, Composition
• Isabel Mesquita: Voice, Guitar, Composition
• João Svayam: Percussion, Composition
• Sara Miguel: Voice, Composition
• Rui Miguel Aires: Handpan, Viola da Terra

Poems by:

• Conceição Maciel
• Elsa Bettencourt
• Judite Canha Fernandes
• Madalena Férin
• Natália Correia
• Sara Miguel
• Terra Pessoa

Links:

• Pico Zen Festival
• Production Team: Rui Aires, Svayam & Shanti Coat Records, Sitara Yogini

Acknowledgments:

• Luís Bidarra, Ana Paim, and the entire PicoZen Festival team
• Rui Silva for the percussion instrument support
• Ludgero Zorro for capturing the residency's essence in the brilliant documentary video
• Other musicians at the festival who shared this adventure and the residency space
• Marcos Fernandez, Jorge 'Canarinho' Silva (Mar & Ilha | Viola da Terra), Carlos Sousa/Kaki (Isabel Mesquita Music), Carolina Pizarro, Pedro de Faro, Sara Rica, and Fabio Ramuni (Meru)

Credits:

• Ludgero Zorro / MagicWand Creative Studio (Image and Video Editing)
• OrangeWorks (Concert Recording)
• João Sousa (Concert Audio Editing)

Support:

• Festival PicoZen
• Inn Nature
• Vila Paim
• São Roque Municipal Council
• Regional Government of the Azores