A Child Who Could Not Say Her Own Name | Myrtle Henry Sodhi

Myrtle Henry Sodhi is a graduate student at York University.  Her research focus relates to well-being, African epistemologies, and education. Outside of academia she offers integrative art, movement, and ancestral embodiment experiences for women, with an emphasis on the Black community, focusing on liberation through an Afro-Caribbean wellness lens. She is currently working on a Canada Council of the Arts funded project, The Body Speaks, which is an integrative storytelling event that revives Afro-Caribbean storytelling through visual arts and performances.  She founded The Beyond Strong Community which offers integrative art experiences for Black women by Black artists. She is a visual artist, writer, and educator who believes in the importance of joy and ease in cultivating a socially just world.

My presentation will explore the connection between voice, embodiment, and belonging. This will be explored through an integrative storytelling format that will include audio, digital, and visual arts components. The short film presentation (10 -15minutes) will investigate the immigrant experience from a child’s point of view through poetry, animation, music, and nature sounds. The Child Who Could Not Say Her Name is a story that exposes the role voice plays in the immigrant child experience. The child in the story struggles with making sense of her new world and encounters a struggle with sound and language. She must find her way to the reclamation of her voice, language, and belonging through the practice of ancestral embodiment and developing connections to the natural world.

Biography

Myrtle Henry Sodhi is a graduate student at York University.  Her research focus relates to well-being, African epistemologies, and education. Outside of academia she offers integrative art, movement, and ancestral embodiment experiences for women, with an emphasis on the Black community, focusing on liberation through an Afro-Caribbean wellness lens. She is currently working on a Canada Council of the Arts funded project, The Body Speaks, which is an integrative storytelling event that revives Afro-Caribbean storytelling through visual arts and performances.  She founded The Beyond Strong Community which offers integrative art experiences for Black women by Black artists. She is a visual artist, writer, and educator who believes in the importance of joy and ease in cultivating a socially just world.

Artist Statement

My presentation will explore the connection between voice, embodiment, and belonging. This will be explored through an integrative storytelling format that will include audio, digital, and visual arts components. The short film presentation (10 -15minutes) will investigate the immigrant experience from a child’s point of view through poetry, animation, music, and nature sounds. The Child Who Could Not Say Her Name is a story that exposes the role voice plays in the immigrant child experience. The child in the story struggles with making sense of her new world and encounters a struggle with sound and language. She must find her way to the reclamation of her voice, language, and belonging through the practice of ancestral embodiment and developing connections to the natural world.