Songs for

2026
4K film (37 min), quadraphonic sound, wooden structure (TV structure: 290 x 240cm, Floor: 420 x 240cm), triptych digital print on canvas (240 x 122cm each)



  “Give me a human drama. The personal is so political.”

This lyric from Human Drama (Planningtorock, 2013) encapsulates the core of Songs for, the latest work from the duo Nayara Leite & Kaeto Sweeney. Together, we explore how intimate, embodied experience becomes politicised within contemporary media landscapes shaped by the global rise of far right-wing governments.

In addition to being recurring first words of many album titles, “songs for” is an unfinished sentence that indicates an attempt of creating a sense of belonging or homage, or to encapsulate an emotional or political focus. The work leans into the idea that knowledge can be rooted in empathy rather than solely logical reasoning. With Songs for (2026), we look into how songs function as a backbone of the many ways to protest. Throughout history, songs have been present on the front line of protests, snare drums guiding chants, gay anthems blasting in clubs, remixing and sampling lyrics from the past to fit the struggles of today.

The film follows three queer artists, all of whom use songs in their ways of protesting and empowering. Particular attention is paid to songs, both as primary narrative device and methodology of filming – a same song is produced in a laptop in Tallinn, is covered by a choir in London, is lip-synced in Bergen. Songs for is a collage of intimate text and video-based accounts that fluctuate in scale, allowing the personal to take on collective and political weight; opening up larger questions around how art and music have been a tool of resistance throughout history.

With deep gratitude to F*Choir, Jenny Moore, Jam Rostron / Planningtorock, alphie hubbard, Joy Stacey, Mar, Tine Adler, Runa Halleraker, Sara Lindberg Hansen, Frida Vikström, Thorolf Thuestad, Niklas Adam, Maja Bergebakken Sundt, Robert Carter, Eira Søyseth, Sónia Barreiro, form.class, Phillip Job, and the Kunstnerforbundet team.

With the financial support from Bergen Kommune, Kulturdirektoratet, Norsk Fotografisk Fond, Fond for Lyd og Bilde, Billedkunstnernes Vederlagsfond, and Bergesenstiftelsen.

Documentation photos: Thomas Tveter