The Witness is a postactivist opera weaving together the Earth's changing messages and the voices of indigenous wisdom holders. This cooperative practice gathers a network of communities closely following the manifestations of the planetary paradigm shift perceptible in the territory they inhabit. Community members, researchers and artists from all regions of the world develop field projects that explore, document, and share local eco-social relationships and stories.
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Maah was selected to work on its project with the cross dancers o Meena community for the year 2024.
One may follow the journey and the stories of our project on their official website.
Meena, also Mina, is a community principally found in the state of Rajasthan in North India. At the time of British ruling, the Meena tribal community had become known as the 'Criminal Tribe' and from the early 19th century, they developed oral traditions in an attempt to reconstruct their identity.
This project follows the Meena community dancers and their story of becoming cross dancers. Identity, gender fluidity, roles, society, community and family are central themes as two male bodies transform into female dancers. By going into their villages and listening to their stories from being folk performers at the same time as being so many other things, this project explores the folk beyond just the form;
testing new ways of viewing a folk performance and trying to reframe the popular images associated with folk dancing. This particular dance form, performed by the Meena community and in this case the cross dancers Chaina and Rakesh, is usually restricted to community gatherings and essentially viewed as a form of side entertainment. When taken out of that context and space and put into the spotlight, the dancing becomes a tool to question, converse and initiate dialogues.
Each year, a six-month edition spanning from the March equinox to the September equinox, involving the sharing of research fragments, monthly translocal conversations and Openlabs, highlights new projects joining The Witness.
Since 2018, The Witness has grown as research groups from different parts of the world working at the intersection of art, research and community engagement have joined and collaborations have developed between participants. Seven years later, The Witness works with a network of 125 artists, researchers and activists from 20 communities in 16 countries.
