The project — SAWT (Voice)  

SAWT (“voice” in Arabic) is a research-creation project investigating oral memory, the Moroccan diaspora and feminine traditions of resistance through the legacy of Aïta. Drawing on a personal trajectory between Morocco and Italy, Wissal examines how voices migrate, transform and continue to carry stories of struggle, freedom and belonging. The project looks to the chikhat — women poets and singers who have long borne collective memory — and seeks to stage a dialogue between ancestral songs and contemporary diasporic voices, aiming to produce new forms of oral poetry, transmission and performance.

The workshop — Imperceptible (co‑realised with Aymen Mejri)  

Imperceptible is a two‑day workshop devised by Wissal Houbabi in co‑realisation with Tunisian artist Aymen Mejri, bringing together local artists to work with voice, memory and a collection of intimate stories. Extending her participatory practice, Wissal chose not to stage a conventional residency finale but to build a shared space of collective exchange. Through listening, speaking, movement and joint experimentation, the workshop examines how a sound or a voice is remembered, why some memories persist, and how art can translate sensory memory into performative and relational forms. Participants collaborate to surface a constellation of personal narratives, sensitive traces and sound memories, resulting in a collective work—an “orchestra” of stories that is at once imperceptible and tangible. The process culminated in a public Open Studio on Saturday, June 13, showcasing the outcomes of this participatory approach.