World Music Institute to Present SMALL ISLAND, BIG SONG

Small Island, Big Song is an award-winning multimedia concert event featuring eight artists from a collective of island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The event combines music, spoken word, and live cinema -- with footage collected during a 3-year film trip across 16 countries, guided by the artists in their homelands. The ambitious project explores the cultural connections between the seafaring descendants of islands that are now on the frontline of global climate change.

Small Island performs a joyous mix of Pacific and Indian Ocean traditions -- from the unique string music of Madagascar to the indigenous-language pop of Taiwan, to the upcycled ocean-trash instruments of Mauritius -- buoyed by a generous splash of reggae and island music. Participating artists represent a wide array of musicians and performers including Sauljaljui of Taiwan, Emlyn of Mauritius, Putad of Taiwan, climate activist Selina Leem of the Marshall Islands, Sammy of Madagascar, Kokol of Mauritius, Richard Mogu of Papua New Guinea, and Kan of Mauritius. Together they spotlight global climate justice in the developing world through a joyous celebration of arts and culture -- dispelling eco-anxiety, grief, dread, and fear and empowering audiences with a reminder of our interconnectivity with nature and each other.

"Working with Small Island Big Song, I'm coming to have a lot of respect for artists," says Marshall Islands climate activist & spoken word artist Selina Leem. "They are able and willing to go to a lot of places that not a lot of us are willing to. With eco-anxiety for example, there is a lot of fear. Artists tap into that and give it a voice. They are able to tap into that vulnerability. They are creating this space for everybody involved to have that moment of healing, but also to come out of it thinking 'ok, I can do something about this' instead of being left in a state of hopelessness."

In addition, there will be a pre-show Q&A moderated by Andrew Revkin, longtime environmental journalist, and founding director of the Columbia Climate School Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at Columbia University.

About Small Island Big Song:

SIBS was created by Taiwanese producer BaoBao Chen and Australian music producer and filmmaker Tim Cole in 2015, and since then the two have been recording and filming with over a hundred musicians in nature across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The outcomes of this ongoing project include an award-winning album, a feature film, outreach programs, and a live concert that has toured around the world across four continents reaching over 170K+ live audiences since the world premiere at SXSW 2018. In 2022 the concert experience comes to the US.

Small Island Big Song explores the cultural connections between the descendants of the seafarers of the Pacific and Indian Oceans through the Austronesian migration, working with artists who have made a choice to maintain the cultural voice of their people through singing in indigenous languages and playing the instruments of their land. These unique lineages mixed with their diverse contemporary styles - incorporating roots- reggae, beats, grunge, RnB, folk & spoken-word- establishes a contemporary musical dialogue between cultures as far afield as Madagascar, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Taiwan, Mauritius, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tahiti and Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Performance Details:

Friday, March 18, 2022

Peter Norton Symphony Space
2537 Broadway at 95th St, Manhattan

Doors: 6:30 PM | Show: 7:30 PM

There will be a pre-performance Q&A moderated by Andrew Revkin

Tickets: $40 | $50 | $60 - member benefits apply