February 2022 - ongoing
Montlhy meetings
An ongoing research exploring the local history of rice in collaboration with the women from the Choir of the Mondine from Porporana - a choir who keeps alive the history of the ‘mondine’, seasonal workers in the rice fields of various areas of the Po Valley between the end of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century.
From May until July, the mondine could be found knee-deep in flooded rice fields, clearing the water from weeds in order to allow rice to grow. The paddy fields often resounded with the sound of the weeders’ protest songs, polyphonic call-and-response songs often denouncing miserable working conditions, which are still sung by various choirs of women in Italy.
From February 2022 resina has been collecting oral histories of rice weeders and think about their legacy, reflecting on how past struggles speak to the present and bringing history into dialogue with the current moment. We have also been collaborating with the owners of the Riso Jolanda farm in Jolanda di Savoia and film-maker Tommaso Monini. Together we have been recording histories of this area’s landscapes and ecosystems, of the life and work around the rice fields and how they changed during the last century.
The project runs from February 2022, and it will culminate in a film made in collaboration with Tommaso Monini.
Project lead: Angelica Bollettinari
Participants: Margherita Elliot, Selenia Ileana Fabbri, Sara Ortolani
Filmaker: Tommaso Monini
From May until July, the mondine could be found knee-deep in flooded rice fields, clearing the water from weeds in order to allow rice to grow. The paddy fields often resounded with the sound of the weeders’ protest songs, polyphonic call-and-response songs often denouncing miserable working conditions, which are still sung by various choirs of women in Italy.
From February 2022 resina has been collecting oral histories of rice weeders and think about their legacy, reflecting on how past struggles speak to the present and bringing history into dialogue with the current moment. We have also been collaborating with the owners of the Riso Jolanda farm in Jolanda di Savoia and film-maker Tommaso Monini. Together we have been recording histories of this area’s landscapes and ecosystems, of the life and work around the rice fields and how they changed during the last century.
The project runs from February 2022, and it will culminate in a film made in collaboration with Tommaso Monini.
Project lead: Angelica Bollettinari
Participants: Margherita Elliot, Selenia Ileana Fabbri, Sara Ortolani
Filmaker: Tommaso Monini
Imgs: stills from video by Tommaso Monini
