Tarik Kiswanson

Tarik Kiswanson’s latest video work unfolds within the Conservatoire de Saint-Denis, situated in the northern suburbs of Paris. The conservatory was established in 1977 as a social project to offer music education to children and adults in the underprivileged and multicultural city. Over time, it has evolved into a comprehensive cultural institution, providing lessons in a wide range of musical disciplines. The film quietly observes the hands of three local children—aged 8, 10, and 11—as they grapple with the task of deciphering the score of the Anthem of Europe, commonly known as Ode to Joy, drawn from the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Through the children’s hands the partition is deconstructed, rewritten and reimagined.