monica hirano

Place of Residency

Monica Hirano (*1992 in Brasil) is an artist, curator and art producer. For the last 8 years, she has lived and worked in Egypt, India, Malaysia, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany.

Monica holds a MA in Arts Management from Istituto Europeo di Design, Rome and has participated as a curator, manager, and featured artist in various exhibitions. Some examples are Something Else OFF Biennale in Cairo, Egypt (2023); BeFantastic Within Fellowship, supported by the British Council, and with an exhibition at BeFantastic Festival in Bangalore, India (2022-23); OVNi Festival, in Nice, France (2022); resident at ETOPIA, Center of Arts and Technology in Zaragoza, Spain (2021); Gender Bender Festival, by SandBox Collective, sponsored by the Goethe Institute (2019); Something Else OFF Biennale in Cairo, Egypt (2018).

Artistic Method

Discipline

Visual artist (installation and performance) and Curator

As an artist, Monica Hirano uses the language of performance and installations, seeking deep self-discovery. She uses ancestry, grief and mourning, family relations, roots of self-esteem, and childhood memory as themes of research.

In her curatorial practice, she seeks to work with values of diversity and the LGBTQAIPN+ movement, inclusion and human rights and HIV lives. Her later interests are the social impacts of AI and the climate crisis.

Project during Borderland Residence

Year of participation

2023

During the residency, I would like to find an intersection between my research on traditions of death and the region that has so many influences. What are the historical rituals and beliefs when one passes away? How do people still connect with that soul and seek guidance? How does one get prepared for the moment of death? How can the family mourn after the deceived soul?

This research is the second phase of Palate Cruise, an artwork I realized less than 2 months after my father’s death. The piece traces a parallel between the palate, oral stories, and connection with the souls that no longer inhabit the world. I will dive deep into the significance of death and life hereafter for those who depart and stay. The product will be a poetic narration for a video with collected stories and research.

Website

www.monicahirano.com

@munihirome