Satellite Project of The Listening Biennial 2025 Wind Chimes, Gongs and Bells.
For whom is this call?
“Wind Chimes, Gongs and Bells. For whom is this call?” is a curatorial contemplation featuring sound, video, interactive installations and gatherings by six contemporary artists – Ana Bravo-Pérez, Ayọ̀ Akínwándé, Dunja Herzog, Eythar Gubara, Simone Goslinga and Soñ Gweha aka SOÑXSEED. The works bridge the personal with the political, calling for a critical examination of the interconnectedness of current global issues. They call attention to the overwhelming feelings of the present time and how we relate as humans, particularly how we treat the realities of others. Within this space of contemplation, sound, video, and musical installations serve as instruments of warning, revelation, and restoration. Although what they awaken in each of us might differ, they are impossible to ignore.
The title relates to and has been inspired by John Donne’s poem Devotions upon Emergent Occasions and Ernest Hemingway’s novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, but the selected works were inspired by Christian Boltanski and Antonio Obá’s symbolic use of jiggling metal instruments to engage the connections of life and death, the individual and the collective, and the past and present.
Presenting “Wind Chimes, Gongs and Bells. For whom is this call?” in Lagos brings the city into a network of localities concerned about current global sociopolitical developments. As the world is at a crossroads, embroiled in tragedies that force us to grapple with the meaning of our humanity, no one can afford to look away. More than in recent history, we are witnessing displacements and ruptures that prompt us to question the values that have led us down this path. Therefore, as the subtitle indicates, “For whom is this call?” is a nudge to be vigilant and be attentive to what is happening elsewhere, which can serve as a prism to see and re-examine one’s realities in the present or as a warning to be prepared for the future. As the cultural theorist Irit Rogoff asks: “How do we get to the point that we can mark emergency without responding directly to it?”
“Wind Chimes, Gongs and Bells. For whom is this call?” and The Listening Biennial program in Lagos is made possible with the support of Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos, Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Mondriaan Funds and the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia.
Location: Centre for Contemporary Art, Lagos | 9 McEwen Street, Yaba, Lagos
Opening: August 22 – October 11, 2025
Curator: Bukola Oyebode-Westerhuis
Artists: Ana Bravo-Pérez (Netherlands/Colombia), Ayọ̀ Akínwándé (Nigeria/UK), Dunja Herzog (Switzerland), Eythar Gubara (Sudan), Simone Goslinga (Netherlands) and Soñ Gweha aka SOÑXSEED (France / Cameroon), plus the presentation of audio works from The Listening Biennial: On Third Listening
Public Opening & Curatorial Presentation – August 22 | 5 pm
Live Activation of Dunja Herzog’s Work – August 22 | 6 pm
Sonic Session with Lagos Sound Artists Collective – August 29 | 6 pm
Online Talk: “Crisis as the ground for reinvention” – September | TBA
