A cornerstone of the Voices of Community residency in Espronceda – Institute of Art & Culture was the creation of KIELI, a cutting-edge digital art piece created by digital artist Ferran Belda. This project serves as a technological “blender,” reflecting the real-life evolution of minoritised languages through transfrontier contact and digital interaction.
By capturing 20 essential keywords from five different minoritised languages, KIELI creates a space where tradition is not just preserved, but dynamically transformed into a new, artificial linguistic ecosystem.
The interactive experience: SÓNAR+D 2024
Showcased at the prestigious Sónar+D 2024 in Barcelona, KIELI allowed an international audience to engage directly with the RISE UP mission.
The visitors acted as linguistic architects, selecting specific words before the software processed and mixed them to generate a completely new, synthetic language. Beyond the code, the installation sparked vital informal conversations about identity, the digital divide, and the survival of cultural heritage in a globalized world. Bringing KIELI to Sónar+D allowed the project to connect with a global network of artists and tech innovators, elevating the visibility of these endangered languages to a world-class stage.
The eurecat session
To achieve the high-fidelity audio required for such a complex digital piece, the artists recorded their materials at the renowned Eurecat studios. Supported by expert audio engineers, this professional environment allowed the subtle nuances of each minoritised language—the clicks, the breaths, and the unique phonetics—to be captured with clinical clarity, ensuring the digital “blending” process remained authentic to its roots.
PROJECT CREDITS
KIELI – The Digital Artwork
- Ferran Belda: Digital artist
- Alejandro Martin: Curator & co-author
- Pere Calopa Piedra: Software engineer
- Src.phag: Graphic Designer
RISE UP – Voices of Community
- Artists: Fiona O’Cleirigh · Marina Cuito · Mario Csenar · Brett Hiiob · Daniela Stoica
- Maika Casalí Masó: Residency Coordinator & Music Producer
- Collaborators: Alidé Sans, Felicia Touvenot
- Support: Recorded at Eurecat recording studio, funded by the European Union.
ABOUT RISE UP
RISE UP – Revitalising Languages and Safeguarding Cultural Diversity is a European Union-funded project under Horizon Europe. It supports endangered (minoritised) language communities across Europe by developing tools, research, and networks to promote language revitalisation. The project brings together eight partners from six countries and focuses on five case study communities: Aranese (Spain), Aromanian/Vlach (Balkans), Burgenland Croatian (Austria), Cornish (UK), and Seto (Estonia/Russia).
More at: riseupproject.eu
