A Kurdish Culture and Arts Academy opened in Liverpool. The academy, which aims to preserve the cultural, artistic, and linguistic heritage of the Kurdish people and pass it on to future generations, was inaugurated with the participation of many people.
Artists Sîpan Xelat and Mem Ozan attended the opening ceremony, lending their support to the initiative. The program began with a minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the Kurdish freedom struggle.
In speeches delivered at the opening, attention was drawn to the fact that the Kurdish people have been subjected to policies of denial and assimilation for many years, and it was emphasized that the struggle carried out in the fields of culture and art constitutes one of the fundamental pillars of the people’s struggle for existence. It was stated that Kurdish institutions established in the diaspora play a historic role in preserving identity and keeping collective memory alive.
Artist Sîpan Xelat noted that cultural and artistic work occupies a decisive place in the struggles of peoples for freedom, adding that the Kurdish Culture and Arts Academy will fill an important gap in the diaspora.
Artist Mem Ozan, emphasizing that Kurdish art is a memory of resistance, said: “This academy is not merely an art space. This academy is the memory, the voice, and the resistance of the Kurdish people. That a language banned for years and melodies that were meant to be silenced are now coming back to life in Liverpool carries great significance. Keeping our culture alive is one of the strongest ways to defend our freedom.”
It was announced that in the coming months the academy will carry out activities in music, dengbêj tradition, literature, folk dances, and the Kurdish language. One of the aims of the academy, said the promoters, is to bring young people together with culture and art.