Terike Haapoja, Songs of Struggle, Songs of Life.
Draft 2025.
Lönnström-projekti 8
Songs of Struggle, Songs of Life
Terike Haapoja
Songs of Struggle, Songs of Life explores singing as a form of ecological resistance. Structured in three parts, the work will draw on the singing and vocal traditions of endangered communities, ecosystems, species and cultures. The project will comprise an archive of songs, an audiovisual installation, and a participatory programme of concerts and choral events. The material – sourced from both human and non-human voices – will include, for example, protest songs, the vocalisations of endangered sparrows, Karelian folk songs, frog spawning calls, activist anthems, and whale songs.
Singing has the power to strengthen bonds, share emotions, call loved ones, foster political agency, and connect with others. It is an expression of the will to live: where there is singing, there is resistance to the forces that threaten life and community.
Songs of Struggle, Songs of Life presents singing as a means to foster communication and solidarity across species, cultures and traditions. The participatory song programme will invite visitors to connect with the struggles of other groups and beings through singing as a bodily experience.
Terike Haapoja will work on the project project in 2025-2026. The installation work and the events of the song programme will place in 2027, when the songbook for the project will also be published.
Terike Haapoja (b. 1974) lives and works in Berlin and Finland. Her practice explores the relationship between humans and nature, the role of animals in society, and the boundary conditions of political community from posthumanist and biopolitical perspectives. Her output includes video and sound installations, publications, participatory projects, and activism. In addition to her artistic work, Haapoja regularly lectures and teaches at art universities in Finland and internationally.