Caged Bird Songs and Other Stories 1 Favorite 

Caged Bird Songs

‘his wings are clipped and
his feet are tied’

Maya Angelou believed in empathy as an empowering force in the world. In the time of coronavirus, we find our wings ‘clipped’ in various ways. The lucky among us, may also find them released. Some of us may be struggling through loneliness, oppression and loss. Others find an opportunity to celebrate nature renewing itself, rejoicing in its abundance.
This map is an exploration. It is a simple snapshot in time, of the world as it exists in the time of Corona virus. There is no commentary here, only a sharing of lived experiences, images, perspectives, journals and sounds from our world in 2020.
We have included the caged birds songs in other contexts, past and present, to highlight the fact that people have been caged in different contexts for a long time. We hope the music also provides some light, in what can at times seems like a dark place.
As global citizens, we gather these experiences to provide a record of our different lives; there is no other agenda. In a very literal sense, they speak for themselves. A shared experience is one that plants roots in our psyche and pulls us closer together. In the words of Angelou, ‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’
Our map gives a place of anonymity to honour these globally situated voices. It uses music as a lens and a catharsis. It is a window in time that allows a range of human experience to be conveyed, including experiences of inclusiveness, inequality and oppression,
These are the stories we have aptured and we appreciate all those who have contributed.
We are: Brenda Stillwell, Leo Kirwan, Jennifer Horgan and Sally Daly and this is a project for Creativity and Change, CIT, Cork, Ireland.

Tips: This project was developed and produced online. We used Google Maps as our creative platform. Google docs and Whatsapp video were used to share and develop ideas and technical knowledge as part of our creative process. If you are thinking of undertaking a similar project, we encourage you to allow time to harvest, capture and upload content to your map, especially where it comes to people sharing personal stories. As a group, working with clarity on each other’s task was a really important part of our process.