Gusāma – Echoes explores the sonic dimension of the multidisciplinary project “Biheko,” a theatrical work staged at L’Arsenic and Théâtre de l’Usine. It delves into intangible memory, queer identity, and postcolonial legacies through various mediums.

Initiated during a stay in Rwanda and Burundi, the raw material for this musical set consists of organic recordings, captures of terrestrial vibrations and bioelectrical signals, as well as samples of traditional music from the African Great Lakes region and personal archives. The performance also incorporates the sounds of traditional instruments brought back from this journey – the Inanga, the Iningidi, and the Umuduri – processed through contemporary electronic music techniques. This sonic hybridization aims to create a listening space that questions the transmission of memory and the relationship between past and present. Through immersive sound textures, this musical proposal echoes the central themes of “Biheko”: the deconstruction of inherited imaginaries, the reappropriation of narratives, and the exploration of fluid identities. Gusāma – Echoes thus invites audiences to feel, rather than to understand in a linear fashion. This sound performance seeks to explore memorial “pockets of information,” where captured and transformed sounds become vectors of fragmented narratives and forms of resistance. It proposes attentive listening to silences and echoes, in an attempt to construct a personal and collective narration in the face of mechanisms of erasure.

Chienne De Garde is a multidisciplinary artist and curator based in Lausanne, exploring music, writing, movement, and performative installation. She creates hybrid works that are emotional and sincere. A founding member of the B2B2B collective and coordinator at Blackbox Lausanne, she also co-programs La Fête du Slip, a festival on gender and sexualities. Formerly a member of House B.Poderossa and House Dorsey-Swan, she is now affiliated with the House of Saint-Laurent. Performing solo under the name Chienne De Garde since 2017, she has played in venues such as Les Docks, Paléo Festival, and Montreux Jazz and has collaborated with artists like Moo Mother, Siavash Nameshiri, and Tracy September. Chienne De Garde’s work questions collective memories and narratives of resistance, combining technologies, archives, and biographical accounts to create a dialogue between past and present.

Date: Saturday 05.07.2025
Time: 10.15 pm⁠
Meeting point: Feministisches Streikhaus

Sihlquai 115, 8005