Comprised of two parts, but housed in one body

Comprised of two parts, but housed in one body: Mother tongues, adopted tongues, and the limits of translation

Marigold Santos and Bianca Miranda in conversation with Muriel N. Kahwagi

February 12
Heather Edwards Theatre | 5:30-7 PM

How does our mother tongue inform our sense of self, but also our sense of place? In what ways is our body informed and impacted by the language we speak – and the language we are forced to leave behind?

Please join us for a conversation with artist Marigold Santos and performer Bianca Miranda about the role that writing plays in both of their practices; the poetics of translation; and the limitations of language.

Santos and Miranda were both born in the Philippines, Tagalog being their mother tongue. In her more recent work, Santos has collaborated with Miranda on the translation of some of her poetry from English into Tagalog, reflecting on her own relationship to the language she once was fluent in; and on the fragmentation of the self that occurs when one speaks (or is forced to speak) multiple languages. In this talk, the artists will discuss their collaborative process, reading excerpts from their writings and translations. The conversation will be moderated by associate curator Muriel N. Kahwagi.

This program is organized in conjunction with Rajni Perera and Marigold Santos: Efflorescence / The Way We Wake, on view at Contemporary Calgary until April 6, 2025.

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About the Speakers

Marigold Santos (she/her) was born in the Philippines, and immigrated with her family to Canada in 1988. She pursues an interdisciplinary art practice that examines notions of heritage, folklore, motherwork, and decolonization presented within the otherworldly. Her paintings, drawings, sculptures, and tattoo work explores self-hood and identity that embraces multiplicity, fragmentation, and empowerment, as informed by diasporic experiences. She holds a BFA from the University of Calgary, and an MFA from Concordia University. As a recipient of grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and the Conseil des Arts et des Lettres du Québec, she continues to exhibit widely across Canada.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Bianca Miranda (she/her/they/them) is a queer Filipino theatre artist who is grateful to be living and working in Moh’kins’tsis, Treaty 7. She is the Producer at Downstage, “theatre that creates conversation around current issues.” As a theatre-maker and playwright, their works most often start from a personal place and examine the intersections of her identities, born out of the necessity to tell stories of her communities that are underrepresented on stage. She is the writer of Kisapmata (Chromatic Theatre & Lunchbox Theatre, 2024 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play) and co-writer and performer of The F Word (Downstage; presented by Alberta Theatre Projects) with Keshia Cheesman. They believe in the transformative power of storytelling.