FLYING CARPET FESTIVAL 2024 WILL RETURN AGAIN!

Dear Friends, the Flying Carpet Festival 2024 will return to Turkish Syrian border between September 20th-30th, 2024. Please VOLUNTEER, DONATE and/or SHARE our fundraiser video. We need your help another time to make this dream possible!

Dancers, musicians, circus artists, artists, designers, composers, and visionaries our Open Call for Artist is now open. You can apply to be on our magic carpet next September.

Flying Carpet is a volunteer-based collective of world-class musicians, circus artists, visual artists, designers, and visionaries who believe in the power of music and arts as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of vulnerable and refugee children in war-afflicted regions of the world. The Flying Carpet Children Festival is an intensive learning platform for artists and vulnerable children alike to create a harmonious experience through music, circus, dance, light, beauty and truth. We organize festivals specializing in forward-thinking design, music and art dedicated towards educating children who need it most. The festival selects artists, musicians and visionaries from all over the world with the common goal of creating the best possible educational experience for vulnerable children traumatized by war and conflict.

ARTogether Partners with Flying Carpet Festival in Turkey

This September, Flying Carpet Festival commenced its 5th year for a two-week mobile arts festival that brought music and circus performances to children across Turkey’s southern border towns. Founded by Sahba Aminikia a musician and composer from Iran/United States, FCF is a volunteer-based collective of world-class musicians, circus artists, visual artists, designers, and visionaries who believe in the power of music and arts as a catalyst for positive change in the lives of vulnerable and refugee children in war-afflicted regions of the world. 

FLYING CARPET FESTIVAL 2023 LINE-UP ANNOUNCED

The fifth Flying Carpet Festival will be returning to the Turkish Syrian border between September 15th-25th, 2023 and be held in remote villages and cities near the border in Mardin, Diyarbakir and Midyat during a 10-day residency for 31 artists from 17 countries.

Flying Carpet Festival is the first mobile multi-disciplinary arts festival for vulnerable and refugee children living in difficult places worldwide. The Flying Carpet Festival was created in 2018 by Sahba Aminikia, a San Francisco-based Iranian American music composer, in collaboration with Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi (Art Anywhere Association), founded in 2012 by Pınar Demiral and Serdal Adambb, an Non-governmental organization, a social circus school and a cultural organization based in Mardin, Türkiye, near the Turkish Syrian border where 3.6 million refugees, half of whom are children are resettled. Other programs held by Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi include; Sirkhane (circus and acrobatic workshops), Sirkhane Darkroom (analog photography workshops), and Müzikhane (music workshops).

The festival annually brings 30-35 artists, musicians, dancers, acrobats, and storytellers to the Turkish Syrian border as part of an artist residency. It engages them in creating a cohesive artistic story-telling experience decorated with music, dance, circus arts, and visual projection for children of Syrian, Turkish, and Kurdish origin. The festival forms collaborations between artists-in-residence, local artists, and children artists.

Since its conception, The Flying Carpet Festival has reached out to 18,000 children through 46 live performances, 260 workshops and has hosted 96 artists. It also has been mentioned in San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Associated Press, KALW, Medium, and I Care if You Listen. In the previous years, Flying Carpet has been sponsored by the United States Embassy in Adana, BMZ (German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development), MEROPS Foundation, and the Italian Cultural Institute in Istanbul.

The artist lineup this year includes, Kevork Mourad (visual artist, USA/Syria), Kelsey Heimeman (visual artist, USA), Sarah Dawson McClean (photographer, USA), Raffi Chilingirian (Duduk player, Lebanon), Harshal Vyas (dancer, India), Samia Karimi (Dancer, Afghanistan/USA), Cansu Akdeniz (puppet designer, Turkey), Gabriel Meidinger (violinist, France/Turkey), Hanna Nikalayeva (face artist, Belarus), Nandala Mathew (dancer, Uganda), Cynthia Dragoni (dancer, USA), Avin Ahmadi (Oud player, Iran), Lydia Umlauf (USA), Julie Michael (violist, USA), Tonka Uzu (illustrator, Bulgaria/UK), Aaron Kierbel (drummer, USA), Stephanie Arnold (cellist, Australia), Luther Bangert (circus artist, USA), Sabina Kariat (animator, USA), Sautier Thibault (circus artist, France), Micaela Bottari (vocalist, USA), Hans Blichert (bassist, Canada/USA), Yavuz Tilek (composer, Turkey), Nora Gharyéni (vocalist, Tunisia), Gabrielle Tesfaye (USA/Ethiopia), Rojda Orhan (Germany/Portugal).

The production artist team this year includes Nima Dehghani (visual projection artist - Iran/United States), Özgür Mert (videographer - Turkey), Shayan Shariat (stage designer, Iran), Torfeh Ekhlasi (puppet designer, Iran), Kamelia Rashidi (light designer, Iran/France) and Berna Küpeli (photographer - Turkey).

READ MORE: https://www.broadwayworld.com/turkey/article/FLYING-CARPET-FESTIVAL-2023-Line-Up-Announced-20230601

Download Press Release

Flying Carpet 2023 Is Coming and WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Dear Friends, this year we will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of Flying Carpet. This was an impossible project from the beginning that we all made possible through believing in magic and by the power of children. We need you this year as well!
As a result of the recent earthquake in Turkey, almost 50,000 people have lost their lives, and 100,000 people have been injured. Damage surveys indicate that 173,000 buildings in 11 provinces collapsed or are heavily damaged... The Turkish government and humanitarian organizations have been working to provide aid to the affected communities, including Syrian refugees, but the road to recovery will undoubtedly be long and challenging. Many Syrian refugees, the most vulnerable residents of Turkey, have lost their homes, belonging, and loved ones once Moree.

We are gradually getting closer to when cultural activities for affected children become essential and meaningful in the region. The children who have suffered from trauma and fear from war and violence now face additional trauma due to the loss of their relatives and the fear they experienced. Our festival is genuinely driven by the spirit of children; however, we maintain very high standards for our performances and workshops. The same standards that any cultural organization in the Western hemisphere upholds.

This year’s Flying Carpet will focus on and prioritize the cities and villages most affected by the recent catastrophe. We also hold numerous art workshops during the festival in every violate we’ll arrive at. We have a few grant applications pending and a few denied, but we need to raise ideally $54,000 or at least $30,000 to make the festival possible this year and that amount is not secured yet. So far, we have raised about $15,000 towards this goal.

Flying Carpet Festival 2022 Kicks Off!

The fourth Flying Carpet Festival starts today, September 15th, and will continue until September 25th. The festival is held in remote villages near the border and the cities of Mardin and Kızıltepe during a 10-day residency for 27 local and international artists from 11 countries.

Flying Carpet Festival is the first mobile multi-disciplinary arts festival for vulnerable and refugee children living in difficult places worldwide. The Flying Carpet Festival was created in 2018 by Sahba Aminikia, a San Francisco-based Iranian American music composer, in collaboration with Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi (Art Anywhere Association), originally a social circus school and a cultural organization based in Mardin, Türkiye, near the Turkish Syrian border where 3.6 million refugees, half of whom are children are resettled. Other programs held by Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi include Sirkhane (circus and acrobatic workshops), Sirkhane Darkroom (analog photography workshops), and Müzikhane (music workshops).

The festival program is as follows:

Sunday, September 18th. KAŞIKLI village, Kızıltepe, 19:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

Monday, September 19th, İstasyon SİRKHANE, 19:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

Tuesday, September 20th,  MARDİN SİRKHANE, 20:00 – Jam Night #1 with Ebuburak Toparli and Abdurahman Oğuz.

Wednesday, September 21st, GÜNLÜCE village, Kızıltepe, 20:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

Thursday, September 22nd, KARAKUYU village, Kızıltepe, 19:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

Friday, September 23rd, MARDİN SİRKHANE, 20:00 – Jam Night #2 with Farzaneh Joorabchi and Saba Qassem

Saturday, September 24th, KÖRSU village, Kızıltepe, 19:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

Sunday, September 25th, MARDİN SABANCI MÜZESİ, 19:00 – The Little Black Fish (musical storytelling experience)

The festival annually brings 20-40 artists, musicians, dancers, acrobats, and storytellers to the Turkish Syrian border as part of an artist residency. It engages them in creating a cohesive artistic story-telling experience decorated with music, dance, circus arts, and visual projection for children of Syrian, Turkish, and Kurdish origin. The festival forms collaborations between artists-in-residence, local artists, and child artists.

Since its conception, The Flying Carpet Festival has reached out to 15,000 children through 38 live performances and 250 workshops and has hosted 82 artists. It also has been mentioned in San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Associated Press, KALW, Medium, and I Care if You Listen. In the previous years, Flying Carpet has been sponsored by the United States Embassy in Adana, BMZ (German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development), and the Italian Cultural Institute in Istanbul.

The artist lineup this year includes Travis Andrews (Guitar - United States), Farzaneh Joorabchi (Vocalist - Iran/Italy), Midori Samson (Bassoon - United States), Arnau Brichs (Piano - Spain), Maša Avramović (Illustration - Serbia), Tobias Pocksteiner (Bass - Austria), Torfeh Ekhlasi (Puppeteering - Iran), Lydia Umlauf(Violin - United States), Vahid Hosseini (Composition - Iran), Shayan Shariat (Puppeteering - Iran), Viliya Monovska (Fire Dance - Bulgaria), Milena Schultz and Sebastian Gonzalez from Cie Balades Perdues (Circus Arts - Germany-Chile), Lulu Gizem (Storyteller – Turkey), Filiz Işık Bulut (Author – Turkey) and Deniz Keser (Circus Arts - Turkey). The production artist team this year includes Lincoln Andrews (Sound Designer - United States), Nima Dehghani (Visual Projection - Iran/United States), Özgür Mert (Filmmaker - Turkey), and Berna Küpeli (Photographer - Turkey). The festival incorporates local artists from the region into the program. Artists such as Sabah Qassem (Poet – Syria), Ebuburak Toparli (Storyteller – Mardin, Turkey), Mücahit Poraz (Musician, Mardin, Turkey), Abdurahman Oğuz (Dengbej, Cizre, Turkey), Yusuf Oğuz (Vocalist, Cizre, Turkey) and Said Muhammet Ceylan (Pianist, Kızıltepe, Turkey).

Flying Carpet Festival 2022 is sponsored by numerous private donors, Merops Foundation, and Austrian Cultural Forum in Istanbul.

Artist Lineup of The Flying Carpet Festival 2022 Just Released

The fourth Flying Carpet Festival will return to the Turkish Syrian border between September 15th-25th, 2022 and be held in remote villages near the border and the cities of Mardin and Kiziltepe during a 10-day residency for 21 artists from 11 countries.

Flying Carpet Festival is the first mobile multi-disciplinary arts festival for vulnerable and refugee children living in difficult places worldwide. The Flying Carpet Festival was created in 2018 by Sahba Aminikia, a San Francisco-based Iranian American music composer, in collaboration with Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi (Art Anywhere Association), originally a social circus school and a cultural organization based in Mardin, Türkiye, near the Turkish Syrian border where 3.6 million refugees, half of whom are children are resettled. Other programs held by Her Yerde Sanat Dernegi include; Sirkhane (circus and acrobatic workshops), Sirkhane Darkroom (analog photography workshops), and Müzikhane (music workshops).

The festival annually brings 20-40 artists, musicians, dancers, acrobats, and storytellers to the Turkish Syrian border as part of an artist residency. It engages them in creating a cohesive artistic story-telling experience decorated with music, dance, circus arts, and visual projection for children of Syrian, Turkish, and Kurdish origin. The festival forms collaborations between artists-in-residence, local artists, and children artists.

Since its conception, The Flying Carpet Festival has reached out to 15,000 children through 38 live performances and 250 workshops and has hosted 82 artists. It also has been mentioned in San Francisco Chronicle, NPR, Associated Press, KALW, Medium, and I Care if You Listen. In the previous years, Flying Carpet has been sponsored by the United States Embassy in Adana, BMZ (German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development), and the Italian Cultural Institute in Istanbul.

The artist lineup this year includes Andrew Meyerson (Percussions) and Travis Andrews (Guitar) from The Living Earth Show (United States), Farzaneh Joorabchi (Vocalist - Iran/Italy), Midori Samson (Bassoon - United States), Lloyd Van't Hoff (Clarinet - Australia), Arnau Brichs (Piano - Spain), Maša Avramović (Illustration - Serbia), Tobias Pocksteiner (Bass - Austria), Torfeh Ekhlasi (Puppeteering - Iran), Lydia Umlauf(Violin - United States), Vahid Hosseini (Composition - Iran), Shayan Shariat (Puppeteering - Iran), Viliya Monovska (Fire Dance - Bulgaria), Milena Schultz and Sebastian Gonzalez from Cie Balades Perdues (Circus Arts - Germany-Chile) and Deniz Keser (Circus Arts - Turkey). The production artist team this year includes Lincoln Andrews (Sound Designer - United States), Soheila Bajelan (Puppet Design - Iran), Nima Dehghani (Visual Projection - Iran/United States), Özgür Mert (Filmmaker - Turkey), and Berna Küpeli (Photographer - Turkey).