“A Fragile Chorus of Voices (Buenos Aires)” will comprise between 30 to 60 different recordings criss-crossing age groups, genders, social classes, national or linguistic communities. Seeing the demographic composition of the city, I expect the work to feature songs in various Argentinian dialects, Andean Spanish, Paraguayan Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Mandarrin, Hokkien dialects, Korean, English, Yiddish, or Plautdietsch.

The work will be presented outside, as a single-channel sound installation. The recordings will be broadcasted from a single loudspeaker mounted either on a wall, a post, or a pole. The installation will be designed as a “soft” monument. It will alternate between moments of silence and moments of singing to give listeners the possibility to encounter each voice on its own terms, and not as a (sound) object to consume.

Set in a public space, the singings delineate a space of listening, a place where the voices of all Porteños can be heard and encountered beyond any prejudices. A meeting point.

Taking into account the possibility that the pandemic will not be under control before end 2021, I have budgeted two production scenarios: one that assumes I will be able to come to Buenos Aires; and another that will allow for the project to be conducted from afar, by commissioning one or two local sound recordists. As agreed with BIENALSUR, I have provided a complimentary PDF file detailing both budgets scenarios.