Carrying The Songs is a giant game of Chinese Whispers winding its way across landscapes, language and cultures, as a story and a drawing undergoes transformation and metamorphosis on its journey from the Western edge to the Eastern edge of Europe! Originating on Inis Mór Island with a drawing and a story (as Gaeilge), it winds its way through Gaeltacht and English-speaking regions of County Galway and Mayo before heading up the west coast to Sligo/Leitrim and Donegal, then traversing across Europe all the way to Istanbul.

Resonating with the Irish seanfhocail Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi, the story is translated, processed by peoples’ own memories, experiences and cultures. Layers are added, other layers are forgotten and let go as it passes from participant to participant all the way to the Eastern edge of Europe. In parallel with the story, a drawing undergoes the same process, with slight changes happening as it is passed from artist to artist, leading to a gradual metamorphosis.

A multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-generational project which explores notions of memory, sense of place, language, landscape, migration, communication and rumour.  Led by artist Alannah Robbins, this collaboration between professional visual artists, storytellers and community participants aims to engage up to 200 people in up to 20 different European countries in an exploration of both our commonalities and our differences in creating this collective artwork.  

Please note that the details of events listed above are provided by the relevant Local Authorities.