THE ILSNA PROJECT
ILSNA meaning “tongues” and “languages” in Maltese, is a shape-shifting performance project about the practice of loving ourself and others. At the heart of this evolving project is a wish to create spaces where we can practice voicing our questions or thoughts on love & intimacy, while also practicing listening to others. This, in the hope of widening our capacity to be challenged, changed, and perhaps even transformed by all that we do not yet know about what it is to love and be loved.
Performance
ILSNA: Songs and Stories of Lovers
ILSNA: Songs and Stories of Lovers is a new intimate participatory performance project journeying through the deep waters of what it means to be a lover, to yourself and other(s). It is written, composed and sung by (Ruth Borg), merged with the musical accompaniment of Jethro Cooke (UK) and under the guidance of Fleur van den Berg (NL).
Għerf il-Maħbubin: Pop Up Library & DJ Set
For one night only, in collaboration with Geġwiġija Library, we created a temporary library: a curated selection of books exploring love from diverse perspectives, accompanied by a delicious DJ set from Alien Montesin.
Love's Lines: A Writing Workshop
A slow, grounding workshop in nature. Through deep listening, embodiment practices, and creative writing, we’ll reflect on love in its many forms.
Active Age - Workshops with the Elderly
In collaboration with Charlotte Stafrace, this workshop empowers elderly participants to share stories of love and resilience. A playful space for dialogue with the elderly on their love stories across time.
Printed Offering
Audre Lorde is a life force. We translated her juicy essay 'The Uses of The Erotic' into Maltese. For the first time her words were published in Maltese.
Garden Conversations on Love
Post-show Q&A sessions with the creative team to explore the performance's themes. Moderated by Sarah Chircop.
The Music of ILSNA
Musically, Ruth collaborates with musician/composer Jethro Cooke (UK), who weaves her melodies and lyrics into deliciously harmonic tapestries with guitar and voice. Read more...
ILSNA: Live in Concert
This summer, the music world of ILSNA took the stage. A world born from heartbreak, strung by loss and lit by the wild beauty of loving deeply. ILSNA brings you delicious original songs in Maltese, along with playful performative surprises, in what promises to be an unforgettable, heart-opening concert.
The Many Hearts behind ILSNA
The many beautiful creative juice souls that makes this happen. Invisible and visible, dead and alive.
Ruth Borg - Creative Practioner
As a creative practitioner in this project my dream is to intentionally let go of (only) living in the parts of my talent that I like and have confidence in, in service of tapping into the closeted parts of myself. It excites me to feel that in this way, I may know and be known in ways still unknown to me.
Audience Impact
Aside from selling-out every event, which speaks to the success of the project by itself, the overall feedback from the audience at each event was overwhelmingly positive both with reference to the events themselves and the lingering impact it had on their lives afterwards.
The Beginning before the Beginning
I dedicate this work to those who came before me and all their love relationships. I read somewhere last year, "I am my ancestors’ wildest dream." I acknowledge that being my ancestors' wildest dream may refer to me being their hope or their nightmare.
Partners & Collaborators
