The Windrose Project

“For example, the wind has its reasons. We just don’t notice as we go about our lives. But then, at some point, we are made to notice. The wind envelops you with a certain purpose in mind and it rocks you. The wind knows everything that’s inside you. And not just the wind. Everything, including a stone. They all know us very well. From top to bottom. It only occurs to us at certain times. And all we can do is go with those things. As we take them in, we survive, and deepen.” Haruki Murakami, Hear the Wind Sing

The wind is an intangible thing that is usually in the background until it is a nuisance, or until it brings relief.

When I sit with Jimmy Grima, artistic director of The Windrose Project, and Katarina Pejovic (dramaturg, writer, intermedia artist) on a sunny afternoon, the breeze caresses our brows gently, making our conversation enthusiastic.

As I was to learn, the seed of the idea for this wind-inspired project was planted years ago, when, working in collaboration with the Malta Maritime Museum on another project for The Rubberbodies Collective, Jimmy came across some information pertaining to the wind rose (also known as the compass rose as found on maps).

This information implied that the origins of the wind rose were related to Malta and its geographical position. Jimmy found this information intriguing enough to file it at the back of his mind.

Years later it was still there and, when a project related the subject of wind was proposed as part of the run-up to Valletta 2018, he decided to use this opportunity to further explore this idea.

Before long, Jimmy had an initial concept – of flying kites over the harbour – into something more complex.

This is where Katarina entered the picture with ample experience in the theatre setting as a dramaturg. Katarina worked on numerous multidisciplinary projects while co-running an artistic organisation for 12 years. She is known for projects that are a mix of the artistic, the social and the political and she has shared her art in countries like Austria, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Cyprus, Ireland and Croatia. It is not her first time in Malta and she has also worked with The Rubberbodies Collective before.

Jimmy’s and Katarina’s mission this time? To revive the myths and lore related to the winds. Thanks to the Marsaxlokk, Għarb, Mġarr and Sliema councils, the two met up with people who were willing to talk about themselves and their relationship with the wind and to establish a long-term relationship with the project.

“It’s interesting to see that these people were quite ready to open up and talk,” Katarina says.

Questionnaires were prepared to gather information and anecdotes from these people’s lives... stories about the sea, the storms, fishermen, everyday life, life on an island. And stories about how the idea of wind is usually connected with fear, anxiety, worry and destruction.

“We created a space for dialogue for stories for people to come in and share their lives with us. We tell everyone that this is just the beginning of the project.” Jimy adds: “We found out that there is an obscure piece of history which was not yet academically researched on the island. There is information that the wind rose was first placed on maps 27 nautical miles northwest of Malta.”

The idea of wind is usually connected with fear, with anxiety, worry and destruction

The linguistic links to support the story, Jimma says, are there. He points out how, in Maltese, the North winds are Latin-based (tramuntana, grigale) while South winds are Arabic-based (xlokk, biċ, nofsinhar).

Among the dozens of people Jimmy and Katarina met are the Vassallo bakers from Mġarr, a family that is expert in traditions related to our climate with a wealth of stories about wind-lore, weather-lore and traditional games. Their participation has certainly enriches the documentation stage of the project, making it easier to pass on to the next phase.

And this phase promises to be even more effective, as kite-making workshops are being held with the aim of getting different generations together to experience interactive sessions.

“The older participants will enjoy sharing childhood stories about making and flying kites, while the younger ones discover a new craft. Other workshops about sails, windmills and reed flutes will follow,” Jimmy says.

The project will be developed with the aim of finally creating a tangible trace of the wind within communities. Although not in the initial plan, eventually the different communities will also be brought together, due to popular demand from the storytellers themselves.

And, after all, this is the very aim of the project: bringing people together in order to discover a rich folklore, some of which is unknown, and being lost.

“Through engaging the really young and the elderly, these traditions and practices can live on,” Katarina says.

Although the project comes with a rough three-year timeline, both Katarina and Jimmy are insistent that it is the soul of the community that will dictate the future, aided with the structure and team behind The Windrose Project.

Katarina is curious to delve deep into what it means to live on an island and the past few weeks have given her an idea of the richness that is to be found in the voices, both young and old, of fishermen, bakers, kiteflyers.

“We have commodified the idea of community. What I can see in Malta, however, is that in smaller communities there is still a strong sense of family life, of neighbourhood, of what it means to live determined by circumstances. One wonderful thing which I find here is the festivity culture, which is one manifestation of this sense of community.”

Yet, Katarina adds, there are lots of things that a community takes for granted and this project is one way of stirring the community into dialogue before such stories are lost.

Both Jimmy and Katarina are fascinated by the micro-cultures, the micro-communities and the distinct features that they found in different places.

“My highlights are always people,” Katarina says.

The more participants are encouraged to talk, the more the storytellers seem to multiply. The gathering of information not only gains momentum with each workshop and each day, but becomes a creature in its own right, dictating the direction of this project. Much like the wind, some things are beyond our control.

As Jimmy and Katarina continue talking about the project, the topic expands until I cannot see the edges anymore and I cannot help but feel excited for them.