Shadows of my Mother's Tongue explores the complexity of generational identity in an ever evolving and growing world. It looks both at the possibility and impossibility of preservation and how the new generation must find it's voice and place in the world despite the noise. As a South African who grew up across two different cultures and speaking three languages, finding my 'identity' has been a journey. This work shares a bit of the journey and asks the listener to consider the duality of identity in a society that embraces differences.
Author
Grace Storm Barnes
Grace graduated BADA(hons) with majors in Dance Theatre composition and choreography in 2016. She then completed my MA in Applied Theatre (Cum Laude) with a focus on performance as research in 2021.
A performer, choreographer, author, spoken word artist, facilitator, lecturer and teacher.
She is an artist at heart with a love for teaching.
She has choreographed various works and productions between 2016-2022, such as "Regression" which debuted at Dance Umbrella 2017, "Slip", performed at the Baxter Dance Festival as well as the JoYA festival in 2016-2017, and "Breathe" which was performed at the Sibikwa Arts Centre, “Wait/Weight”, performed at The Market Theatre in 2023 and more recently “Grieve, that is how you survive”, a two-hander developed from her poetry collection which debuted at the National Arts Festival in July 2024 amongst many others.
She started writing at the age of 13 and has written and self-published a collection of 3 anthologies on love, loss, and grief, recently launching her 2nd Edition collection in March 2024.
In October 2022, Grace represented South Africa at the Requiem for Justice Festival in Mexico City, an international Rally of artists, writers and thinkers from over 15 countries to manifest the role that art plays to protest against injustice.
She continues to create and perform her works, creating new explorative ways of merging her skills and art forms in various ways. Her recent projects focuses on grief studies and finding ways in which to articulate the process of grief in order to find joy and healing through the process of loss.
