We are the Sun: Multilingual collaborative songwriting as a hospitable, embodied and political process

Multilingual approaches to collaborative creativity can be seen as one form of resistance to inequality and neo-colonialism, through the potential to decentre the English language, unsettle entrenched linguistic hierarchies, and open up spaces of linguistic hospitality (Ricoeur, 2006). This article will share a song written in collaboration with displaced young people, in order to reflect on ways in which multilingualism in creative processes and performance might play a role in fostering solidarity and mutual care. The song, the writing process and the participants' reflections together act as a lens through which to observe small but significant shifts that can happen when linguistic repertoires beyond the dominant language are welcomed into a shared creative space. Multilingual approaches here are not seen as a quick-fix solution to systemic injustice, but as one way to illuminate questions of power and audibility in socially-engaged arts practice.