Individual residencies / Olot
MONIQUE MIZRAHI
From Friday, 17 May 2019 to Friday, 24 May 2019
Bio
Monique Mizrahi is a musician, songwriter and LGBTQ+ artivist performing as Honeybird. Originally from Los Angeles, she has called Italy home for nearly 20 years. As an artivist she has presented Bi at the Brooklyn Museum, performed at the US White House under the Obama Administration, and in 2015 released Out Comes Woman, an album chronicling her coming out experience as bisexual.
As a musician/songwriter she has toured internationally, including performances at European festivals such as Primavera Sound and Eurosonic, performing on guitar, charango and vocals. In 2017 and 2018, she was invited as visiting artist to Berklee College Music, Valencia, Spain, presenting Innovation and Bravery in Lyric Writing, Diversity and Inclusion Beyond Borders and Genders, and Activism Through Music. Her mission is to listen to intersectional LGBTQ+ community voices and transform the daily struggle into song.
Project
I’m writing an album exploring gender nonconforming identities through the eye of Cyclops cat. They are a non-binary cat with one eye and prefer the pronouns “they/them/their”. Therefore, all of the song lyrics are per their preference.
My project at Faber will thus be researching, composing the music and writing the lyrics to this album, entitled Cyclops cat, using the classical guitar, 10-string charango and my voice.
It’s an exploration of the usage of “they/them/their” pronouns in a poetic and implementable way, a healthy exercise in the infinite possibilities of language and song.
A Transformative Residency
My experience at Faber was transformative. I came in with some ideas and song sketches for a new album and left with the album written and ready to record. The lyrics took a fascinating turn towards a more inclusive, relatable voice. The music grew wings and harmonically-charged zest to express.
This was also thanks to the sharing with other Faber residents, an intersectional, diverse lot whom I learned so much from. Interacting in the evenings allowed for frank discussion around our projects. It was eye-opening and provided me with broader, more informed perspective on my specific topic – the genderqueer identity and “they/them” pronouns – as well as insight on their missions and projects too.
The sense of purpose and validation was so strong, the feeling that what we do matters, that we are at service to our communities, that art empowers. The visit to the local high school in Amer with fellow resident Christopher Okemwa was also very meaningful; a delight to have the opportunity to do so.
Mention must also go to the surroundings that invited us and the Faber team and Riu Fluvià Hotel. Such local insight on local food, culture and nature walks. Surrounded by greens and fiery rocks, magic emerges.
Thank you for the freedom to create and be.
P.S. And here is a poem about Faber too:
Nestled in the Lush Greens of Olot.
Languages Amidst the Trees,
The Explosive Art of the Unexpected,
New Music Flows, Lyrics Take Form,
Fluvià River Cleanse the Creative Palette,
Dialogues over Marginalized Visibilities, Represent,
Free-spirited Magpie Perches on my Balcony,
Flaming Poetry Amidst the Catalan Winds,
Breathe in Volcanos, Extinct but not Forgotten,
The Fire Within That Never Dies,
Faber a Muse, I have loved you.
