Future Songs of Fish and People

Commission creation 2026

MUSEUM ^^^^ THEATRE ^^^^ EARTH

Through a ceremony, a procession, and a choreography in the shallow coastal waters surrounding Ummanz, artist Amanda Piña pays tribute to the knowledge and labor of the Bodden fishermen while forging new relationships with the sea and its living beings. The work originates from a commission for a public artwork initiated by residents of Ummanz. At its center is traditional coastal fishing, which was  added to the national register of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Germany this year. With its disappearance, centuries-old knowledge and lived practices are also being lost.

Amanda Piña developed Future Songs of Fish and People for the New Patrons of Ummanz in collaboration with Michel Jimenez, Sinon Quilla, and Federico Protto. Together with international and local contributors — including TogetherTogether Collective, Ron Alonso Berger, Jee Chan, Angela Muñoz Martinez, members of Perform[D]ance Stralsund, and the Samtens Women’s Choir — the work will premiere on Saturday, June 27, 2026.

Amanda Piña responds to the commission with a three-part concept. It connects the local context of Ummanz and its centuries-long shaping by coastal lagoon (Bodden) fishing with global ecological processes and oceanic cultures. The project takes its name from a system of ocean currents (AMOC) threatened by climate change – one that is responsible for regulating the weather in Europe, links oceans, species, and coastal communities worldwide in a fragile network.

The work opens with a collective event on Saturday, June 27, 2026, on Ummanz. Titled Future Songs of Fish and People, this central element brings together international performers and people from the region. The knowledge and labor of the Bodden fishers are honored through a procession with visual and sonic elements, and a public ceremony. A choreographic sequence of “living sculptures” draws on the movements of corals, plankton, and other largely invisible marine microorganisms, transforming fishing materials into fluid, forms.

Amanda Piña then translates forms and materials from the performance into permanent elements in the public space of Ummanz. They serve as a memorial to the event, a monument to threatened marine life, and a place for sitting, gathering, and lingering.

As a third element, Piña weaves together footage from the performance with images of the Ummanz landscape, marine ecosystems, and voices of fishers, scientists, and local experts. Following the migrations of species such as the European eel and the herring – once the “bread fish” of the region – she places them in the context of climate change and the geographic and economic currents flowing between the Global South and the Global North. The video installation extends the local event beyond Ummanz and opens it to future audiences.