Venue: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, main hall.

Tickets available online.

Interdisciplinary artist Nazanin Noori (1991, Wiesbaden) presents the Berlin premiere of A LETTER TO EUROPE. The spoken word opera is based on a poem by poet and playwright Athena Farrokhzad (1983, Teheran), addressing migration, borders, and displacement in contemporary Europe. Fragments of Earthly VersesLet Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season by Forugh Farrokhzad (1935, Teheran) recur throughout the performance as a poetic refrain. Combining voice, percussion, and electronics, the work features a score composed by Noori together with musician and composer Andrea Belfi (1979, Verona).

Drawing on the structure of a wedding, the performance brings together a classical Iranian singer, Samin Ghorbani, two spoken-word performers, Kate Strong and Noori herself, and two drummers, Andrea Belfi and Ludwig Wandinger. Alternating between spoken word and songs, the work reflects the movement between affective and political registers of both poems, while the drummers establish a counter-structure of rhythm and control. The electronic score adds a further layer, echoing the rigid frameworks of institutional systems.

Taking the myth of Europa from Greek mythology as a point of departure, the work translates themes of coercion and contested belonging into a staged configuration. The mythological reference operates as a structural parallel rather than narrative illustration, situating Farrokhzad’s critique of Europe within a longer history of forced movement and asymmetrical power relations.

Performers: Andrea Belfi, Kate Strong, Ludwig Wandinger, Nazanin Noori, Samin Ghorbani

Credits: English translation of Athena Farrokhzad's poem: Jennifer Hayashida

The performance A LETTER TO EUROPE is a commissioned work by Bergen Kunsthall. Presented at Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva; Kyiv Biennial at KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin; and Bergen Kunsthall.

With thanks to Callie's.