Chiara Gelmini - Björkö Konstnod

Chiara Gelmini, Italy

Artist Statement

I am an interdisciplinary artist, performer and artistic
researcher working across voice, performance, memory,
participatory practice and site-responsive environments.
My work explores how artistic situations can create
temporary spaces of encounter, listening and shared
presence. Through voice, narrative structures and spatial dramaturgy, I am interested in thresholds:
moments and places in which identities, memories and perceptions shift, overlap or become temporarily
suspended.

A central part of my practice is A Suitcase Full of Notes, a long-term performative project travelling through
songs in their original languages from across the world. The project treats voice as a carrier of memory and
cultural crossing, inviting audiences to listen across languages before translating or defining them. The
suitcase itself functions as a portable archive — not only of songs, but of stories, images and fragments
gathered along the way.

Alongside my performative work, I develop site-responsive and curatorial projects that transform domestic,
transitional or symbolic spaces into relational environments, within my broader research framework,
Threshold Relational Practices.

Working Plan
During the residency at BKN (14–22 September 2026), I will develop a visual and narrative extension of A
Suitcase Full of Notes, focusing on a series of papercut illustrations connected to Malinka, a fairy tale I am
currently writing.
While the broader framework of the project remains rooted in voice, storytelling, listening and cultural
crossing, the main focus of this short residency will be visual research. I would like to use the atmosphere of
Björkö — its island landscape, birch trees, forest paths, light, distance and proximity to water — as a source
of inspiration for developing the imagery, rhythm and visual language of Malinka.
Malinka is set in an imaginary Northern landscape and resonates with themes already present in A Suitcase
Full of Notes: journey, memory, transformation, symbolic geography and the passage between familiar and
unfamiliar worlds. The suitcase may therefore become not only a container of songs, but also a portable
archive of stories, images and fragments.
During the week, I plan to work on sketches, papercut studies and a first visual sequence for the project:
Days 1–2 — settling in, orientation walks around Björkö, first sketches responding to the landscape
Days 3–5 — papercut studies, developing character and setting motifs for Malinka
Days 6–7 — consolidating a short visual sequence and if suitable preparing an informal sharing
Listening walks and informal exchanges with the place and the residency community may accompany the
process, but the most realistic outcome will be a small body of visual material rather than a finished
performance or sound work.
The residency may lead to an informal sharing of the process, presenting the first papercut illustrations,
narrative fragments and research notes developed in dialogue with Björkö..