SPACE21 FESTIVAL 2024

SPACE21 FESTIVAL 2024 THE 8TH EDITION OF THE INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC FESTIVAL IN SLEMANI. THIS YEAR THE FESTIVAL FOCUSES ON THE ARCHIVE OF LISTENING AND HOW OUR LISTENING SHAPED THE MUSIC TODAY. The Listening archive documents changes in our listening modes. This is crucial for understanding the evolution of our listening, sound, and music practices.

Shubbak Festival 2023

THE LEGITIMATED BODY AND NAVIGATED LISTENER. A live collaboration between Hardi, Khabat, an unusual interactive radio and a shell bomb cello, in transcendent dialogue with artists and audiences in Slemani, Iraqi Kurdistan. In this anarchic act of rogue legitimation, Hardi manipulates a radio circuit board to play unfrequented frequencies inspired by a very specific listening memory of Hardi’s; his own ‘illegal’ immigration to Europe in 2002. Having travelled inside a shipping container with a small radio he used to gather intelligence on his surroundings, the noises from the radio created a new listening knowledge. Khabat makes a cello out of…

SPACE21 Festival 2023

SOUND-PLACE-MEMORY – SPACE21 in Slemani, in collaboration with Irtijal Festival in Beirut, Breach Festival in Nicosia/Cyprus and Sonocopia Association in Porto, presenting a unique music and sound programme this year.

SPACE21 LGW Embassy in Kurdistan-Iraq

Le Guess Who? ‘s borderless and boundary-crossing ethos led us to create a platform that promotes international collaboration with partners to amplify their local scenes to an international audience: LGW Embassies. During this year’s festival, we’re sharing experiences and artists from Kurdistan-Iraq, India, Egypt, Brazil, Mexico, Sudan, China and Palestine. We are approaching this hybrid platform as an opportunity to democratize culture and use digital content as a vehicle to disseminate ideas, involve audiences and promote real-life gatherings. With LGW Embassies, we’re showcasing the originality and creativity of China’s diverse indie music scenes and we’re presenting a musical incubator for…

Abandonment Spaces

Exploring artistic methods for collaboration and exchange between SARC (Queen’s University Belfast) and Space21 (Kurdistan-Iraq). This two-day workshop will bring together artists based on the island of Ireland to work together at SARC in Belfast and to collaborate remotely with artists working in ‘abandoned spaces’ in Slemani, Kurdistan-Iraq. The workshops will focus on sharing and developing strategies for experimental music and other artistic practices in site-specific locations, and will also explore creative methods for collaboration and online exchange. The workshop is part of a wider ongoing collaboration between Sonorities Festival Belfast and Space21 (funded in part by the British Council…

BEYOND GENRES

Explore limitless sonic possibilities at this year’s festival and be captivated by performances from sound practitioners. The festival offers a vibrant and diverse soundscape that is nothing short of a treat for the senses. From experimental sound installations that push the boundaries of what is traditionally considered music, to avant-garde music performances that combine elements of the classical and the contemporary, the festival presents an array of auditory experiences designed to engage every kind of listener. These innovative works of sound are brought to you by artists from all over the world, each contributing their unique perspective and style. This…

ISOLATION

SPACE21 this year revolves around the concept of ISOLATION in artistic practice. You will listen to portfolio performances focusing on solo improvisations and sound art that reflect the artist’s experience and act through their works during and after the pandemic. With the sounds and voices from the ISOLATION, we will create a listening experience for the audience in a public space to connect them with their surrounding. Curated by Hardi Kurda

SHAWER-RADIO FESTIVAL

We are very happy to announce “SHAWR” Space21 Radio Art Festival 2020 during corona time. “SHAWR” will take place between 14th and 17th of December 2020 in the city of Slemani, Kurdistan SHAWR, this Kurdish word, describes a sound that comes from a wind instrument or a traffic police whistle. SHAWR is a sound that is used to make aware, to provoke or create attention. Therefore this year we decided to have SHAWR as a theme for Space21’s first radio art festival. SHAWR wants to draw attention to the critical aspects of listening and sound through various mediums. SHAWR is a platform…

LISTENING BIENNIAL

July 15, 23 & 28, Slemani, Kurdistan: The Listening Biennial on local buses. Space21 presents The Listening Biennial on local buses within the city of Slemani. Riders of the public bus will encounter the audio works by participating artists of the Biennial, as well as works by local artists invited especially, including: Khabat Abas, Amer Ali, Zana Rasoul, Hani Mojtahedy and Hardi Kurda. Over the course of three evenings, the public bus is turned into an itinerant listening environment. For information about the biennial and Space21 participant visit The Listening Biennial and e-flux magazine

HAMMAM’S MAQAM

The exhibition draw attention to the special architectural and social environments of the Hammam.There are a number of Hammam still active, and with their particular spatial qualities will allow for unique sonic investigations. While the Hammam is less central to life in Kurdistan today, it nonetheless touches deep historical and personal memories of many people, and therefore may also allow for reflecting upon the history of the cities and their transformation over the years. Space21 is a sound art exhibition focuses on site-specific and relational works that open up different sound experiences for the public, activating the listening sense. This…

LISTENING

Space21 invited sound artists from around the world to work together with local artists, as well as to share experiences that can lead to building networks of support between artists. Through the exhibition of collaborative works, Space21 generates new relationships between audiences and places, leading to the creation of new situations of exchange and experience. As a result, Space21 works towards fostering new understandings and dimensions within existing places, which can also bridge the past and the present of a place, allowing for more imaginative views onto how we come to live and inhabit everyday life. Through the artistic experiences…

FESTIVAL FOR SOUND ART

The first exhibition of Space21 in 2017 under FAS (Festival for Sound Art). The festival aims to promote contemporary art in Kurdistan through sharing knowledge and experiences with the international contemporary art community. The festival focuses on public places as an artistic medium to create artwork and a meeting point with a broad public.