Parallel/Play — Word/Play Between the Word and the Note

*Word/Play* is an evening of live performances that brings together a spoken-word artist, a visual artist, and a musician on one stage. Language, image, and sound come together in the same space—and the music becomes the common thread that connects them.

The evening unfolds in three parts. First, a trio that has been working together for weeks presents something that could only have emerged from their shared interaction. Then, a second trio meets for the first time—without a plan, without a score; it’s all about listening and reacting in real time. The evening concludes with an open invitation: everyone in the room is welcome to participate—whether with their own voice, an instrument, or a phrase.

A poem has a tempo. A sentence has a pitch. A voice is an instrument. Here, the word belongs on the same stage as the sound.

*Word/Play* is a special edition of *Parallel/Play* in collaboration with Lettrétage Berlin.

Artist Biographies

Riikka Korpela (curator) holds a BA in Fine Arts, where she majored in printmaking and photography. Parallel to her visual art practice, she has always felt drawn to music—she studied voice and piano, collaborated with musicians, and worked in theater. Her creative world has always moved fluidly between the various disciplines.

As an artist and curator, she has initiated and developed numerous collaborative projects based on dialogue, experimentation, and live exchange. She is particularly fascinated by the energy of live encounters; she creates spaces where preparation leaves room for spontaneity—moments in which something unexpected and unique can happen between the artists in real time.

Questions of transformation and shifting perception run like a thread through both her artistic and curatorial work.

Lavia Lin (curator) holds a BA in “Humanities, Arts, and Social Thought,” during which she studied art and aesthetics, philosophy, and artistic practice. Her work is rooted in the relationship between music and image—she translates auditory experiences into expressive, abstract forms, drawing on jazz improvisation, rhythmic gestures, and melodic flows of color.

Live painting forms the core of her artistic practice: real-time visual responses to sound, rhythm, and atmosphere, developed in collaboration with musicians from a wide variety of genres. Since 2017, she has been collaborating with the Italian band Satoyama—including as part of their 2022 “Sinking Island” European tour, where live painting and music served as a means to reflect on climate change. In parallel with her artistic practice, she leads creative workshops on the themes of mindfulness and creativity.

Demi Anter is an award-winning author, performer, and presenter. Her work has been published in *Magma*, *Banshee*, and *The Times* (UK), among others. Her selected appearances include performances at the Glastonbury Festival (2019, 2022) as well as with the *Loud Poets* and *Poetry Ireland*. Since 2012, Demi has built a network of workshops for creative writing and public speaking. Her poetry collection *Small Machine* chronicles her early years in Berlin (Write Bloody UK, 2022). Chanel Miller described the work as “captivatingly radiant and comforting,” while Musa Okwonga called it “sensitive, compelling, and beautifully vulnerable.”

IN ENGLISH