A feeling of home

Wanjiku Victoria Seest

"Home is a story of who we are and a collection of what we love". Author unknown

Photo: Deniz Kaya

It is a natural feeling to want to belong, to feel like a member of a community where you are on a 100 percent equal level and where you feel you have a seat at the table. I have been a performing artist for as long as I can remember, a passion that I feel is a natural part of me. However, since moving to Scandinavia and for a long time, the story of who I am never had a place in society, on stage, and in the public forums I never felt represented. It felt lonesome having to tackle the challenges of constantly feeling on the outside and at the same time the insecurity that comes with choosing this path. Felt like several layers of minority all intertwined. I found my self searching for a place to call home, a feeling of together, community, collective-ness, where love resides, where collaborations are created, where artistic expressions are encouraged and explored and where I was an artist, first and foremost.

With the New Nordic Network, I feel on the inside, I feel included, equal. The story of who I am is as valid as the nexts. The network brings together artists of varied backgrounds and genres where everyone has the same place and has a seat, a say. Makes it possible to explore all of ours’ stories and experiences (lived and inspired) on an equal platform. Artists all living and working in this part of the world, in itself , a metaphoric picture of the society itself. In an ever changing society, the importance of Arts in pushing the society to be , to do better has never been more vital and relevant. In an industry that is grounded on unearthing truths, the various truths, bringing the various stories to light and making them visible as is the Power of Arts, New Nordic Network is not only necessary but vital and the constellation of artists around the Nordic Countries makes an even greater impact, spreads across borders. In the nature of Arts, what’s within must be manifested without and so the power of the network is also that it is a reflection of the society we are living in and the society itself sees its varied stories reflected through art, sees itself represented wholly, through this network.

And as said earlier, this network is for me, first and foremost, a feeling of home.