In your voice: dialogue between an artist and an anthropologist about a participatory sound work in the community of Neive

Abstract

The article is presented as a two-part speech, in which art and anthropology mutually enrich each other with visions and interpretations. On one hand, the narration of the Nella tua Voce project, held in Neive, a small town in the province of Cuneo, which saw its inhabitants and the recently restored town tower as protagonists. The outcome of the project is a participatory sound work which, for its realization, has called all the neivesi to leave a mark through their voices at the top of the tower. The two months of meetings and dialogues spread throughout the country, were followed by a two-day public action from sunrise to sunset, as a collective ritual that accompanied hundreds of inhabitants to the climb.
On the other hand, an anthropological reflection on the concepts of community, belonging, participation and restitution. What does it mean to return collectively through codes that are not those of the written word? What can anthropologists learn from a participatory work of art? These are some questions that the paper will try to answer.