Before the Volcanoes Sing: A Conversation with Clarissa Tossin

In her film Before the Volcanoes Sing, Clarissa Tossin traces the movement of Maya people and culture across multiple spaces and temporalities. For its presentation in the Whitney Biennial, the film is installed alongside 3D-printed replicas of pre-Columbian Maya wind instruments. These replicas appear in the film and were played for its score. Their aural and physical presence demonstrate what pre-Columbian ritual objects can offer us despite ongoing and layered processes of displacement and translation.

This program brings Tossin together with her collaborators who created the replica instruments and the music for the film to discuss their process and their respective contributions. Speakers include anthropologist Jared Katz, flautist Alethia Lozano Birrueta, and composer Michelle Agnes Magalhaes. The conversation will be moderated by Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator.