‘Hope Away from Home’ in Vilnius on World Refugee Day 2023
On World Refugee Day 2023, Arya Aramnejad and Basim Mardan are joining the Cultural Rhythms Music Festival in Kūdrų Parkas, Vilnius. The initiative is organised by Artscape Arts Agency and the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour. This is the first time ICORN has been an official partner in Lithuania and the Baltic region.
Cultural Rhythms Music Festival, under the general theme of hope away from home on World Refugee Day 2023, aims at inspiring creativity and togetherness. As part of it, the main music event will be held on June 20th at 18:00 EEST in Vilnius’s Kūdrų Parkas where Arya Aramnejad will perform.
Aramnejad is a popular musician from Iran who has lived in Stockholm since his ICORN residency in 2018. His music, characterised by its hopeful, yet fighting spirit and political and scoial themes, will be the first act in the Cultural Rhythms Music Festival, encapsulating the courage and strength the world celebrates on World Refugee Day.
Arya Aramnejad will be followed by a musical programme which includes Rakija Klezmer Orchestra and the post-punk duo Dlina Volny from Minsk, Belarus, who are currently living in Lithuania. Rakija Klezmer Orchestra will be joined by Ukrainian musicians in Lithuania to perform Eastern European Jewish music. The Cultural Rhythms Music Festival will also include workshops and activities for children on the topic of World Refugee Day.
In the run up to the music festival, the National Art Gallery in Vilnius held artistic performances and a panel discussion entitled 'World Refugee Day: why is it important to talk?’, in which Basim Mardan took part. Alongside Mardan, Renata Kuleš from UNHCR in Lithuania, Laura Pereviciute from the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour, and Artscape Arts Agency’s Director Aistė Ulubey joined the discussion, which was moderated by journalist Karolis Vysniauskas. The discussion illuminated local, national, and global approaches to the reception and perception of refugees. ICORN’s Training and Development Coordinator Basim Mardan, who was also in ICORN residence in Skien, Norway (2006- 2008), was able to offer a unique professional and personal perspective on the issue.
The first artistic performance at the National Art Gallery in Vilnius was entitled ‘Collective Dance Vol.1’. It aimed to highlight the crucial role of art in the development, participation, and socialisation of and between communities. The dance was followed by a music performance by Kadhim Mazim, a musician from Baghdad, Iraq who has been living in Lithuania as a refugee since August 2021.
World Refugee Day
Initiated by the United Nations, World Refugee Day is annually marked on June 20th to honour and celebrate refugees, their strength and courage in fleeing persecution and conflict, and their contributions around the world.
The theme of World Refugee Day in 2023 is ‘Hope Away from Home: A World Where Refugees are Included’, focusing on the ‘power of inclusion and solutions for refugees’. It is in this spirit that Arya Aramnejad and Basim Mardan are joining the celebrations and important discussions on World Refugee Day in Vilnius.
Cultural Rhythms Music Festival and the World Refugee Day celebrations in Vilnius were organised by Artscape Arts Agency and the Lithuanian Ministry of Social Security and Labour in close partnership with UNHCR Lithuania, the Refugee Reception Centre, and ICORN. The event will return on World Refugee Day 2024.
