OPEN CALL: Noisy Writings

This two day workshop is an invitation to play with the textures of language, the rhythms of intonation, the noise of speech. We will knock words together like they are something concrete, pull them apart, reassemble them and question their meaning. Today we have large language models (AI) that produce something that looks like writing in seconds, but what does this do to meaning, to the practice of writing, and the experience of living, articulating and embodying our texts? Language is becoming more and more homogenised— by composing with sounds pulled from words, we aim to restore and transform meaning — to take up Viktor Shklovsky's call to ‘make the stone stony’ — so that we may ‘recover the sensation of life’.

We will explore the embodiment of voice and language. What might it mean to step inside a poem? How can we write with gesture, choreograph with our voice, compose with our speech? How can we use technology to reflect the ways our minds work? By looping, repeating, we can conjure up traces of phrases, the sounds of our dreams, the ways our thoughts glitch. As well as the option to explore critically and playfully working with technology such as a loop station and generative AI, we will reflect on how the rhythms of our bodies and thought processes impact our creativity. The ways large language models are changing the practice of writing can prompt us to explore alternative processes of writing and re-writing, to understand our thought patterns, our ‘voice’, our sentences, lines, and personal relationships with listening, embodiment and writing.

Dates:

15th and 16th of October 2026

Hours:

11am - 3pm

Number of participants:

15 writers, spoken words artists and choreographers

Public presentation date (optional): Friday 16 of October

The workshop is open to anyone who has a background in spoken words, poetry, movement, dance and choreography and shares a curiosity to explore different ways and expand their practice in making and performing noise in a way that reflects the realities we live in. All participating artists should be over 18 years of age and are encouraged to share their work in a live event at Goethe Institut Athen on the 16th of October 2026, if they wish. The participating artists, based in Athens for the days and times of the workshop, will be selected via the process of an open call. Local artists with limited access to similar learning opportunities will be prioritised, travel and accommodation for the period of the workshop will not be covered by the hosting organisation. All selected artists will be contacted via email by mid-September 2026 and are expected to attend all days and hours of the workshop and the final public performance.

The language of the workshop will be English with the possibility of peer-to-peer translation, if the participating artists of the workshop are willing to support a multilingual process.

During all events of Noisy Words we will uphold the following zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination, harassment, sexist and racist language; no act is considered too small to be addressed.

If you wish to apply:

Please send your application by the 25st of September 2026, under the title Noisy Writings; a writing workshop with Hannah Silva (UK) via email to the following address:
kultur.athen@goethe.de

Your application should be submitted in english and include all the following:

• A short note/text on how you describe the current state of your sound and performance. (max 300 words)

• A short note/text on what you wish to learn, explore, improve and take away from this workshop and learning experience.

• Two samples of your work (maximum duration 5 minutes, in one of the following formats .mp3, .wav, .mp4, .mov)