March 1st, 2026

Prompt: “Mix languages”

Monika Wilczynska, Danny Jordan

Monika Wilczynska

“As an immigrant, born in France to Polish parents, having lived in London, UK for the last 13 years and currently having my family in Spain, France and Belgium, this year’s opening theme felt deeply personal. I speak 4 languages and feel like a slightly different person in each of them. My heart feels different. My voice changes. Even shame fits a differently shaped box depending on whether it’s “wstyd” or “la honte”. Some conversations are too difficult, feel too personal to have in my mother tongue so I resort to English in order to build an invisible protection wall around me. I belong nowhere and everywhere all at once. I’ve never truly felt home anywhere yet I’ll be the first one to travel on my own to some of the most remote places on earth and find familiarity within each new encounter. It’s such a privilege to experience multiple cultures and ways of living within yourself, both through language and through the 5 senses, even if the trade off is a subtle yet permanent feeling of being untethered."

- @elairecreates

Extended Ensemble: Danny Jordan

“At the beginning of his most recent term, the president signed an executive order making English the official language of the United States. Its not actual law, but it speaks to how rising nationalism aims to eliminate diversity and create the illusion of hegemony. And also how language in use and in mere existence is a threat to fascism. I took pictures of any non-English writing that exists just my home, highlighting the diversity of the US and our dependence of foreign products. It's all overlaid on the promise of aid and legal protection written in Spanish on my passport.”

- @danieljosephjordan

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