Speech Choir of Apologies - Kalaallit Nunaat/Denmark

The dominant narrative in Denmark has long claimed that Denmark was not a “real” colonial power in Kalaallit Nunaat —a narrative which has been historically reinforced through politics, media, and education. However, this claim is presently collapsing as stories of colonial exploitation and structural suppression are coming to the public’s eyes. 

Through a speech choir with a diverse group of citizens in Denmark, this project aims to investigate and deepen the understandings of our position as implicated subjects, a term introduced by Michael Rothberg in his 2019 book The Implicated Subject: Beyond Victims and Perpetrators. Guiding questions: Can collective creative work induce and strenghten our response-ability? What are the potentials of the form of speech choir in collaboration with a composer?  What can be exchanged and learned from how artistic methods have been used in processes of truth and reconciliation in the other Nordic countries?

In close collaboration with the Danish theatre Mungo Park workshops and an open presentation will be conducted through November 2026.

Speech Choir of Apologies builds on the incentive grant project Choir of Apologies

Participants

Ditte Maria Bjerg (DK) is associate professor at Malmö Theatre Academy, where she is teaching the partner trajectory at the MA programme, Performing Arts as critical practice. In her artistic practise as theatremaker, she develops scenic material in close collaborations with experts, be it groups of citizens or academic experts. Ditte has been engaged with Kalaallit Nunaat since she in 2015 created Ní hao Nuuk, a performance/ installation in Copenhagen subtitled “an expedition on the future of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland)”.

Malin Arvidsson (SE) holds a PhD in History and is a Senior Lecturer in Human Rights Studies at the Department of History, Lund University. Arvidsson’s main research interests are historical justice, gender history, and the history of childhood. Her PhD thesis focused on state redress and the "retroactivity dilemma” that arises with claims for reparations. Arvidsson is currently participating in the project ”Truth and Reconciliation in the Nordic Countries”, funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark. 

Rikke Lie Halberg (DK) holds a PhD in history from Lund University. Her dissertation Fireburn: Revolt, Representation, and Remembrance focuses on Fireburn, a labour revolt in the Danish West Indies in 1878, and its afterlives on both sides of the Atlantic. Another research interest is North Atlantic colonialism. Halberg has given several presentations on the colonial relations between Kallalit Nunaat and Denmark in her role as affiliated researcher at the Centre for Oresund Region Studies, Lund University, as well as at Kulturnatten at Lund University. 

Tanja Diers (DK) is aDramaturg, playwright, curator and creative producer. Since 2020 PhD fellow in artistic research at the Malmö Academy of Theatre and Lund University with a project on artistic processes, where artists and citizens with specific life experiences create performing arts together. The performances: MY DEER HUNTER (2020) and STILLE SLAG (2021) are part of the research project.