Arka Kinari: Artivism at Sea

In this immersive documentary performance, Nova Ruth, Grey Filastine and 4Pi fuse 360º video, music and storytelling to narrate the odyssey of Arka Kinari.

At a time when the world was shaken by the pandemic, the artists set sail on a 70-ton sailboat equipped with solar panels and a seawater desalination system. The boat is home to a community of activists, creators and artists who are sounding the alarm about the climate emergency.

Arka Kinari, named to evoke a blend of the Latin word for “vessel” and the Sanskrit word for half-man, half-bird musician, represents the most ambitious initiative of Filastine, American percussionist and producer, and Nova Ruth, Indonesian singer and environmental activist. Part tour truck, part concert venue, the boat’s deck is transformed into a stage, and the sails become projection screens for Filastine & Nova’s live performances. Sailing from port to port, the duo, whose music tackles environmental concerns head-on, aspire to abandon fossil fuel-based travel while maintaining a flourishing artistic career.

Wales-based immersive arts studio 4Pi Productions joined Filastine and Nova on the boat from Bali to Jakarta to document their journey and develop the performance. It is the vivid account of this epic journey that will be presented in the Satosphere.

This project has been supported by the British Council’s International Collaboration Grants and Wales Arts International.