Becoming a Goddess in a Music Video Trilogy: Applying Intersectional Feminism in a Transnational Folk Singing Collaboration in Finland and Bulgaria

Emmi Kujanpää

Exposition

Becoming a Goddess in a Music Video Trilogy: Applying Intersectional Feminism in a Transnational Folk Singing Collaboration in Finland and Bulgaria (2025)

Emmi Kujanpää

open exposition

About this exposition

In this exposition, I explore my artistic practice based on collaborations between female folk singers in Finland and Bulgaria from 2018 to 2022. The artistic material of the exposition consists of a music video trilogy (2019, 2020 and 2022) based on my compositions and arrangements in the solo album Nani (2020), produced in cooperation with the younger generation of the Bulgarian women's choir, Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. In addition to the collaborative artistic practice, I interviewed six of the Bulgarian singers. Insights from the data gathered in these ethnographic interviews are intertwined with the analysis of the artistic practice. Throughout the artistic and ethnographic research processes, I applied a feminist intersectional pedagogical approach by focusing particularly on the power relations and the question of female agency in the arts and wider society. In this exposition, I argue that the incorporation of intersectional feminist perspectives in transnational artistic work can contribute to both artistic practice and transnational interactions in ways that may strengthen women's agency in the folk music field of their respective cultural and social environments. Feminist folk music composition was applied at all stages of the artistic and research work. By highlighting the stories, voices, and bodies of women of different ages and cultural locations, the artistic practice represented the construction of counter-myths and transgenerationality. In addition, an intersectional feminist approach helped to identify the power relations involved in transnational collaboration, particularly regarding economic inequality and the roles and different opportunities of women musicians in Finland and Bulgaria. Download Accessible PDF

type	research exposition
keywords	feminist folk music composing, Finno-Karelian folk singing, Bulgarian folk singing, transnationalism, intersectional feminism, The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices
date	28/10/2025
published	28/10/2025
last modified	28/10/2025
status	published
affiliation	University of Helsinki
copyright	Emmi Kujanpää
license	CC BY-NC-ND
language	English
url	https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/2038366/2038367
doi	https://doi.org/10.22501/jar.2038366
published in	Journal for Artistic Research
portal issue	36. 36
external link	www.emmikujanpaa.com

Copyrights

name	Ritva Kattelus and Emmi Kujanpää. Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota' (2019).
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Emmi Kujanpää and branches. Music video 2: 'Celestia' (2020)
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices Vocal Academy. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022).
copyright	Alexandra Boianova
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Emmi Kujanpää and the Bird Crown. Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota' (2019)
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Ritva Kattelus' hands. Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota'
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Borisova Park. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022)
copyright	Alexandra Boianova
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	The Bird Crown in the Högberget Cave. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022)
copyright	Antti Kujanpää
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture, picture

name	Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota' (2019)
copyright	Emmi Kujanpää
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	video

name	Ritva Kattelus dancing. Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota' (2019)
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Ritva Kattelus and the Nymphs. Music video 1: 'Ogrejalo slantse – Vuota vuota' (2019)
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Music video 2: 'Celestia' (2020)
copyright	Emmi Kujanpää
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	video

name	Emmi Kujanpää collecting dry twigs. Music video 2: 'Celestia' (2020)
copyright	Vilma Metteri
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022)
copyright	Emmi Kujanpää
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	video

name	Elichka Krastanova in Borisova Park. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022).
copyright	Alexandra Boianova
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	Mirela Asenova and Violeta Marinova. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022)
copyright	Alexandra Boianova
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

name	The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices Vocal Academy in Borisova Park. Music video 3: 'Nani' (2022).
copyright	Alexandra Boianova
license	CC BY-NC-ND
usages	picture

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Becoming a Goddess in a Music Video Trilogy: Applying Intersectional Feminism in a Transnational Folk Singing Collaboration in Finland and Bulgaria (2025)

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