Elia Moretti and
Marika Smreková

Symposium Musicum 

Described by Matthew Blackwell as «a fascinating document of intercultural exchange and mutual understanding through the medium of recorded audio», Symposium Musicum approaches listening as a performative strategy. The project was developed within the dramaturgical framework of the 8th edition of the Community Festival of Contemporary Art UM UM (in 2019). The sound was used in it as the ontological tool to explore relations between Slovaks and Roma in areas of eastern and north-eastern Slovakia with significant Roma enclaves. 

During Sunday’s afternoon program, an artist duo of Marika Smreková and Elia Moretti will present this project through the listening session carefully guided by their insights. 

Concept by Elia Moretti and Marika Smreková

Field recordings, composition, mixed by John-Robin Bold, Anna Khvyl, Elia Moretti

Published by mappa in 2023

Marika Smreková is a Slovak artist based in the Czech Republic, activist, feminist and mother. She studied theatre direction at the JAMU in Brno, where she is fulfilling her doctoral studies. In her dissertation, she reflects on her artistic research on participatory forms of performing arts within the framework of UM UM – the intercultural community and art festival, of which she was the founder and curator from 2012.

Elia Moretti is a musician, composer and researcher whose work revolves around contemporary music theatre and its intricate relationship with the ecology of sound. With a background in percussion and social sciences, Elia’s research explores the nature of sound performance, delving into sensory experience and the cognitive. Beyond the stage, Elia is interested in how artistic practices engage with the social contexts they emerge from or respond to.