4 January 2023

Reminder: Woman*, Life, Freedom: The Akademie der Künste stands in solidarity with the protesters in Iran

Evening event with performances, discussion, film and concert
Tuesday, 10 January 2023, 6–11.30 pm, Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg

In solidarity with the ongoing protests in Iran, the Akademie der Künste has invited Iranian, Kurdish and German artists to organise an evening event on 10 January 2023 focusing on the role played by the arts in the revolutionary process. Artists, activists, political scientists and journalists will take part in a series of discussions and performances in conjunction with a film screening and a concert. Admission receipts and donations will go to the transnational feminist collective Woman* Life Freedom. The Berlin-based group campaigns against the crimes and corrupt activities that have been carried out by the Islamic Republic for years.

On 16 September 2022 Jina (Mahsa) Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was killed by the so-called morality police while in custody in Tehran. Since then, people in Iran have staged protests against the terror perpetrated by the state, while calling for a change of regime. To date, more than 18,400 people have been arrested during the uprisings and many protesters have been abused and tortured. Over 500 people have been killed, including a large number of children, teenagers and students. The Kurdish slogan “Jin*, Jîyan, Azadî” or its Farsi equivalent “Zan*, Zendegi, Āzādi” (“Woman*, Life, Freedom”) figures at the heart of the uprisings and is the basis for a revolutionary movement that is spearheaded by women and those subject to discrimination on the basis of their gender identity as well as by ethnic groups (especially Kurds, Lurs and Baloch), university and school students and striking workers.

After a video performance presented by anonymous women artists, political scientist Ali Fathollah-Nejad will provide some historical context for the protests. This will be followed by a discussion with activist and author Sanaz Azimipour, author and literary critic Maryam Aras, journalist Omid Rezaee and activist Zeinab Bayazidi. The discussion will be moderated by Johanna M. Keller, programme officer at the Akademie der Künste.

Journalist Sham Jaff will present the interactive film documentary Big Village by Beri Shalmashi and Lyangelo Vasquez. The film reconstructs a place that now only exists in the memories of Kurds: a Kurdish Peshmerga camp that was bombed out of existence. It tells the stories of former inhabitants of the camp, a community that has now been scattered across the world.

The evening will finish with a poetic intervention by poet Tanasgol Sabbagh and a musical performance by Nazanin Noori (modular synthesiser), Shabnam Parvaresh (bass clarinet, clarinet), Azin Zahedi (santoor, bansuri, flute) and Kimia Bani (daf, percussion

Programme
6 pm: Video/performance to be, or to be by anonymous
6.15 pm: Keynote address by Ali Fathollah-Nejad
6.30 pm: Discussion with Ali Fathollah-Nejad, Sanaz Azimipour, Maryam Aras, Omid Rezaee, Zeinab Bayazidi; moderation: Johanna M. Keller
8.30 pm: Film screening Big Village (directors: Beri Shalmashi, Lyangelo Vasquez, 2020), presented by Sham Jaff
9.15 pm: Poetic intervention by Tanasgol Sabbagh
9.30 pm: Concert by Nazanin Noori, Shabnam Parvaresh, Azin Zahedi and Kimia Bani

Event details
Jin*, Jîyan, Azadî / Zan*, Zendegi, Āzādi / Woman*, Life, Freedom / Frau*, Leben, Freiheit – On the Revolutionary Process against the Islamic Republic and the Role of the Arts
Performances, discussion, film, concert
Tuesday, 10 January 2023, 6–11.30 pm
In English and German
Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin, Tel. (030) 200 57-2000
€ 6/4

Press passes can be reserved by telephone or email: 030 200 57-1514 / presse@adk.de.