Vaim Sarv | “Kunstnikud on kohal”

Bio

Vaim Sarv is an experimental vocalist, organizer, writer, and baker. She is a student of the oral tradition of Estonian runosong which he interweaves with acoustic, bodily noise music and free improvisation. Mutating his voice with extended vocal techniques, her sensual and abrasive sound is interrupted by stories and spoken word. His performances are more like gatherings which emerge out of situated forms of conviviality. Using queer-feminist and decolonial tactics, his research traces the radical, deviant roots of oral cultures in the Baltic Sea region. She works as a part-time janitor at Massia, an artist-run residency where he collaborates on questions of self-organization and care work. He organizes an annual gathering for experimental and traditional vocalists in rural Estonia and helps run a monthly queer sauna in Tallinn. Her book “Radical Runosong: Decolonizing Self and Tradition” was published in 2025 by OPA!. 

Project

As an Estonian artist born in Canada, I understand the friction inherent to cultural belonging and second-language acquisition. Drawing on my experience as an experimental singer and contemporary performance artist, I will introduce traditional runosinging as a collective, somatic activity that is engaging and playful. I will also share grounding vocal exercises and movement practices with the students. The workshops will treat runosong as a living oral tradition, encouraging young people to use their voices with more confidence and develop their Estonian language skills in a supportive environment. At the end of the workshop, we will write and sing a runosong together that reflects the students’ life experiences and dreams. Runosong has been sung for centuries by very different kinds of people in very different places and contexts My workshop highlights this linguistic and cultural diversity hidden in the tradition to create new forms of self-expression for young people.