A modern translation of episode XIII Ulysses

Author Vamba Sherif interprets the chapter into a contemporary setting. Visual artist Hester Scheurwater was commissioned to elaborate Chapter 13 into an art installation. She is doing so together with young artists Nelke Mast and Chiara Pastoor. The title of this multimedia installation is ‘Sex Shooter – the Liberation of Sexual Identity’, an explicit and confrontational experience suitable only for visitors over 18.

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Sex Shooter

Rewritten chapters

In addition to visually interpreting the chapter, Liberian Groningen author Vamba Sherif rewrites the chapter in a contemporary context. All the chapters will be rewritten by different writers from the various countries. From this, a new publication will emerge in June 2024 that will be returned to Europe, as a kind of log for the future.

Gender Matters: Stories from Istanbul

Turkish film curator Gülen Güler has brought in a number of impressive films in parallel with ‘Sex Shooter – the Liberation of Sexual Identity’ and also as part of the project, which will be shown in an exhibition setting titled ‘Gender Matters: Stories from Istanbul’. These are composite images that include excerpts from director Can Canden’s moving documentary film My Child, in which parents of transgender children tell their stories.

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Bloomsday

The year 2022 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses. On Bloomsday (June 16), the date Joyce began his great, epic novel, it was announced that the European Commission’s Creative Europe Fund is awarding one of its major grants for 2022 to this ambitious social and cultural project – ULYSSES European Odyssey (UEO) – which unites 18 cities across Europe, from Vilnius to Lisbon, from San Sebastian to Oulu, from Dublin to Budapest and from Athens to Groningen.

In awarding the grant to the 18 city partners, Creative Europe wrote:

‘The need to rediscover Joyce’s Ulysses as a European masterpiece with a powerful contemporary message is particularly well outlined. The project excellently addresses the cross-cutting issues of social inclusion, diversity and gender equality through a series of actions devoted primarily to these topics. The detailed concept of the project can be assessed as “likely to give rise to change and innovation, given the major transnational actions covered by the consistent dramaturgy regarding European cultural heritage and masterpieces of European literary works.

Multidisciplinary scope

ULYSSES European Odyssey is inspired by Ulysses’ status as one of the milestones of European culture. The transnational scope of the project will be multidisciplinary, bringing to life the democratic public spaces of a modern city in “all walks of life.” There will also be cross-society symposia (one in each city) on art and society, 30 artist exchange residencies and 18 literary commissions for a new EUROPE-ULYSSES book to be published in 2024.

The project will take place in each of the 18 cities in chronological order of the 18 chapters of the novel. The start was in Athens (late September 2022) immediately followed by Budapest, Marseilles, Trieste and Vilnius. This year, initiatives will take place in Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, San Sebastian, Cluj, Istanbul, Zurich, Groningen, Eleusis and Oulu. The project will conclude its journey in Lisbon, Dublin and Derry-Londonderry in June 2024.

18 cities, 18 urgent priorities

In their application to Creative Europe, the organizers of ULYSSES: A European Odyssey highlighted the 18 “urgent priorities” in contemporary European society that Ulysses itself emphasizes. One for each city and directly inspired by the themes in the 18 chapters of Joyce’s book. They include, for example: “youth, citizenship & democracy,” “the role of neighborhood communities in post-Covid Europe,” “enrichment through immigration,” “our creative dialogue with the dead,” “our contemporary relationship with food,” “the ecological challenges facing our sacred seas and coasts,” “shelters and the aging of Europe,” “the future – a female vision,” and so on. These themes will be addressed during the 18 symposia on art and society organized by the UEO consortium partners in each city. From there, the questions and proposed answers will be forwarded to the major symposium in Dublin with 309 total questions (inspired by Chapter 17 of Ulysses) in Dublin on June 12-14, 2024.

Partners

The consortium of partners from 18 cities consists of a range of established and emerging organizations, including three museums, three theater organizations, a citizen environmental project, a light festival, two government agencies for culture and tourism, a platform for photography and independent artists and curators in the visual and performing arts and film. The lead partners for the project are Brave New World Productions Foundation in the Netherlands and Arts Over Borders in Ireland.

Brave New World Productions on this project:

‘Brave New World Productions is delighted to be involved in this exciting and truly groundbreaking pan-European project. It is an honor to have been involved in helping to shape the vision for the project and in finding the amazing partners we now have. As lead partner, we are proud of our involvement, enormously grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm of our 16 partners, and thrilled to have the support of Creative Europe – and that of all co-funders – to make this possible. And thank you Joyce for inspiring us!

Noorderlicht on our participation in this project:

‘Noorderlicht is delighted to participate in this wonderful project. European cooperation is an important ambition in our work as an international platform. Thanks to this project, we are in contact with many other countries. This supports the possibility of establishing sustainable cooperation for the further future.’

Arts Over Borders (Ireland) on this project:

‘James Joyce regarded the city as the true repository of a civilization.’ We hope that ULYSSES European Odyssey’s creative journey will zigzag over the next few years – like Homer’s Odysseus and Joyce’s Leopold Bloom – to a larger Europe of shared debates and performances that will shine a light on human complexity, develop new international partnerships, offer transnational solutions, and foster new active citizenship between the arts and society.’

You can see all the information about the other cities and projects at ulysseseurope.