EMI: FREEDOMSONG

Rohan Ayinde and Tayo Rapoport present ęmí: freedomsong

19 — 21 June, Barbican

ęmí: freedomsong (2025) is an audio-visual work created by artist duo Rohan Ayinde and Tayo Rapoport in collaboration with curator Zarina Rossheart and in dialogue with bell hooks’ All About Love and Camille Sapara Barton’s Tending Grief.

Reflecting on the Yoruba concept of ęmí {the breath that animates life} and inspired by the strength of the Palestinian struggle for dignity and self-determination, freedomsong invites audiences to connect with their voices and find the courage and language to transform their individual and collective grief into a culture of love and radical change.

At the heart of the work is a ritual led by Barton and singer-songwriter anaiis, in which six vocalists - anaiis, Tawiah, douniah, Bint Mbareh, Amina Gichinga and Roxanne Tataei - were invited to process their grief and transform it into love through song.

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