Artists in Exile: Preserving, Creating, or Eulogizing Syrian Culture?

“Everything useful [for artistic inspiration] was sold and looted during the war.”

- Syrian fine arts student in Istanbul, Oct 2020

Since the start of the Syrian civil war, nearly 11 million Syrians have been forcibly displaced from their homes (UNHCR 2021). In the midst of the humanitarian crisis triggered, and in the struggle to control Syria’s political and social narrative since 2011, Syria’s artists, musicians and cultural advocates have been all but side-lined.

I decided to correct this lack of attention by inviting select researchers from Europe and the Levant to work side by side with Syrian musicians and artists currently living outside of Syria. Presentations will be based largely on on-going research examining Syrian aesthetics and cultural production in exile, and will be further developed in breakout sessions and a roundtable discussion with musicians and practitioners (those working for Syrian NGOs and cultural organizations) throughout a two and a half day event. Although unusual to see musicians and scholars engaging together at an academic workshop, it is envisaged that this pairing will encourage researchers and “those being researched” to have a more equal dialogue when exploring cultural production in exile. Furthermore, this workshop will create new connections among scholars, musicians, artists, writers, architects and practitioners working on issues of displacement and forced migration and further strengthen existing networks on aesthetics, migration and mobility. In addition to the traditional panel and roundtable format, an evening of musical performance will complement a public lecture delivered by a Syrian poet or writer in exile addressing the theme of cultural identity and lost heritage. The outcome will be either a special issue of an academic journal or a docubook that combines scholarly articles with artist memoirs and vignettes.

• Confirmed Participants

  Khaled Said
  Mohamed Salem
  Issam Kourbaj
  Yammen Jazbeh
  Serkan Hakki
  Osama Badawe
  Ward Moghrabi
  Hazem Hamidiyeoğlu
  Bassel Hariri
  Professor Dawn Chatty
  Professor Jonathan Shannon
  Professor Evrim Hikmet Öğüt
  Dr Shayna Silverstein
  Dr Tom Western
  Dr Ammar Azzouz
  

• Events

  Public Lecture by Issam Kourbaj
  Friday 14 Oct 6.30pm @ KC Shasha Suite, Woolf Institute

  Concert: Arabic Music Past & Present
  Friday 14 Oct 7.30pm @ KC Shasha Suite, Woolf Institute
  Featuring Yammen Jazbeh on qanun and the Andalusia Trio (vocalist Ward Moghrabi, Hazem Hamidiyeoğlu on qanun, and Osama Badawe on oud)

  Jam Session
  Saturday 15 Oct @ Recital Room, Faculty of Music, Cambridge University
  Time TBC
  Featuring Serkan Hakki on clarinet, Bassel Hariri on violin, and Osama Badawe on oud