Conjure words, sharpen ears, loosen tongues | Workshop / Listening Session by Samo Zeichen скачать в хорошем качестве

Conjure words, sharpen ears, loosen tongues | Workshop / Listening Session by Samo Zeichen

"Conjure words, sharpen ears, loosen tongues" | Workshop / Listening Session by Samo Zeichen January 16, 2026 It may be on the tip of your tongue, yet words often fail us. We wind our way through our own speechlessness, searching for a language that enables us to name things and experiences. This inner search for clues to our own history is also the search for clues to the history of our predecessors. In this process, the body becomes an archive, inscribed with stories that would otherwise remain hidden. Language becomes an expression of our longing to be understood. Listening creates responsibility, and speaking conveys it. How, then, do we speak to each other and to ourselves? Which words do we choose, and which do we hold on to? When does language provide access, and when does it build barriers? We occupy space and time through voice and language, yet our configurations of thought can be hard to articulate. Sometimes, it seems as if our linguistic operating system is stuck in a feedback loop. To navigate language is therefore to explore the limits of what can be expressed, and how. This workshop explored three key methodologies from Samo’s artistic research, orbiting around critical archival studies and practices. We took the artistic research project “Veliko nas je bilo / We Were Many”, focusing on early language recordings of Carinthian Slovenes, as a starting point. Searching the archives for words and stories that were thought to be lost, where language becomes a political issue and a vocalised struggle for justice and recognition. After a critical exploration of these historical recordings, we held a listening session to sit with the voices and ghosts captured within the archive. Finally, we explored the interaction between language and materiality, culminating in a material-discursive practice where language/words and material become artistic artefacts. --- Samo Zeichen's practice circles around the political notions of public space and its democratization. Through artistic research and collaborative projects, he employs Noise as a methodological tool to interfere with existing systems, proposing subversive new forms of togetherness. His recent work focuses on critical, decolonial archival studies, tracing the genealogies of sounds and voices from affected communities. He holds an MA in Cross-Disciplinary Strategies from the University of Applied Arts Vienna, which he completed with the project Veliko nas je bilo / We Were Many. His projects are inherently collaborative: he co-founded the political music listening initiative Sonic Agency with Shilla Strelka; co-developed the artistic research Apophenia (musique plastique) with Paula Bracker; and co-authored an audio paper on Petromusicality. His professional experience is deeply rooted in Vienna's cultural landscape, having worked with institutions and festivals such as Weltmuseum Wien, Impulstanz, and Wien Modern, alongside various music platforms as a curator, promoter, and sound enthusiast. Samo is also a co-founder of Verein Bestand, a cultural initiative dedicated to sound art and events. --- Video: Miloš Vučićević