Nengi Omuku's The Symphony and Stargazers are included in Come Sing With Us!, a group exhibition at Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz. The exhibition will run until 5 January 2025.
"Singing is not just a pastime, but also creates a sense of community, enables us to express our identity and becomes a means of accusation or resistance during protests. When you are not allowed to raise your voice freely or are not heard, singing can also be an act of self-assertion.
The exhibition addresses these issues with sound and video installations, sculptures, drawings and paintings by more than 20 contemporary artists, many of whom are presenting their works in Austria for the first time. It deals with national lied culture, folk singing and modern songs, mourning, resistance and the reinterpretation of old songs. Some of the artists featured in the exhibition harness the power of singing as a strategy for empowerment. They defend themselves against systematic oppression and disenfranchisement by giving minorities a voice. Others explore personal and intimate themes. When practising a song, performing a ballad or staging an opera, references are made to traditional choral forms as well as pop music. Several works newly created for the exhibition invite visitors to raise their voices as well."
