Four years ago today the Haiku challenge began, Naviar’s first and longest music challenge with its 209 haiku assignments to date. This is the day when I always think of what Naviar did during the year that just ended and what it’ll do in the following 12 months.
(naviarhaiku001 – haiku by Andrea Cecon)
2017 was undoubtedly Naviar’s most intense year: we released three solo albums, two of which from members of Naviar’s community, a compilation to commemorate the Chernobyl disaster and four free compilations of music from our weekly challenges and live events.
Talking about events, in April we collaborated with the art collective Food of War and created the exhibition Clouded Lands, which took place at Rich Mix in London. Always in London, in October we hosted the first Naviar Haiku Fest: a creative day with workshops, live performances and online music contributions from all over the world. Just a few weeks after the Haiku Fest a multidisciplinary exhibition Naviar co-curated opened in Narrandera, Australia.
(Naviar Haiku Fest, October 2017)
(Poison Waterholes Creek by Bassling, for the Narrandera exhibition)
In the last 12 months we’ve reinterpreted haiku written by the Great Masters, contemporary poets, bloggers and poetry communities from all continents. There are more participants in Naviar’s challenges too: roughly 30% more compared to last January.
Where do we go from here?
From this year the Haiku free compilations will be released monthly, something I’ve wanted to do for a while, and they’ll include a digital booklet with poetry and images by Naviar’s community and friends. We’ll also have our radio programme: Resonance Extra will host a bi-monthly 30 minute podcast with music from our challenges and more, starting from early 2018.
In terms of publications, we’ll start 2018 with a compilation to celebrate Naviar’s four years of activity, followed by a solo release by Serbian multimedia artist Manja Ristić.
As for events and meetups, I’m working together with AFK retreats on a 3-4 day music retreat in the UK this Spring with workshops, collaborative projects and a closing live event. Naviar’s friend Neil Stringfellow and I are organizing a Naviar Haiku Fest “dislocation” in Norwich this May, during the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. Finally, we already confirmed a second Naviar Haiku Fest in London, which will be on 13th October.
German painter Gerhard Richter once said that art is the highest form of hope. I’d like you to consider Naviar as a safe harbor for your creative side, a space where to find inspiration and inspire the works of talented and passionate people worldwide. Let’s continue our journey of exploration, collaborating across art forms, online and offline, together.
Marco
Congratulations, and what a year! Delighted to have been able to be a part of it, and looking forward to all that 2018 has to offer.
Keep up the great work! 🙂
Cheers big ears, Love the chance to work with creative folk. I also am thankful to be a part of something that has a positive message and intent. I look forward to what we all can accomplish in 2018. Peace. Not that I think we can achieve world peace that was more of an arivoir peace, but hey why not.
as for future, a haiku in italiano:
…
‘alba sul mare / sulla pagina bianca / tracce d’inchiostro’
…
let the future be open: each day a good day