Music, even when the migrant cannot bring their instrument, carries a musical memory that expresses both a bond with the past and the possibilities of a new life. Migration experiences — shaped by widely varying causes, geographies, statuses, scale, and duration — give rise to very different musical behaviors and outputs.

The programme aims to examine the impact of migration on musical production through a broad range of music cultures and genres, discussing with guests each episode, centered on migration experiences from nearby geographies, how migration shapes cultural production in the context of music.

Past episodes of the programme can be heard in the Açık Radyo archive and as a podcast.

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A 2017 conversation at Depo İstanbul between artist Pınar Öğrenci and ethnomusicologist Evrim Hikmet Öğüt drew out the closeness between an Iraqi musician's story and the Syrian musicians documented in this series.

The project examines the migration experience through the common ground music creates, documenting in depth the musical practices, identity-formation, and conditions of cultural production of Syrian musicians in Istanbul.

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The idea of utopia has long found a place across many traditions of music and sound-making. "Sessel Ütopyalar" brought together sound installations and performances by five artists connecting this tradition to contemporary art practice.

The performances staged for the exhibition met audiences through the works of sound researcher Deniz Güngören, musician Volkan İncüvez, Ali Miharbi, Tuna Pase and Ulaş Özdemir.

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Organized by ethnomusicologist Evrim Hikmet Öğüt, musicians from different countries spent hours making music together and talking through ways of being and creating together.

With the help of simultaneous interpretation, Syrian and Turkish musicians found common ground: the difficulty of sustaining a livelihood as a musician, and the tension between finding one's own voice and holding a place in the market.

A Hungarian lullaby, American pop, and Arabic songs all found a place in the workshop's shared music-making — a meeting that crossed both language and borders.

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Available to listen on Spotify.

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The product of a rigorous and reliable research process, this report not only surfaces the systemic problems of the music field but also offers policy recommendations for institutions shaping cultural policy.

The report documents musicians' working conditions, income structures, labor rights, and sectoral problems through comprehensive fieldwork, remaining an important reference point in cultural policy discussions in Turkey.

Authors: Selda Dudu, Evrim Hikmet Öğüt, Özge Ç. Denizci.

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