On Thursday, November 14, 2024, Kashkul, the Center for Arts and Culture at the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), proudly collaborated with The Foundation Hub to celebrate the 240th anniversary of the city of Slemani. Held at the Culture Factory, the event featured an enchanting evening of poetry, music, and songs, honoring Slemani's rich cultural heritage and vibrant artistic community.

The celebration brought together poets, musicians, and audiences to reflect on Slemani's enduring legacy as the capital of culture in the Kurdistan region. This special occasion highlighted the city's contributions to the arts while fostering community and connection among attendees.

To see the performances of our Shawi Slemani event, visit our Instagram account.

This fall, Kashkul hosted its highly anticipated Annual Open Mic at the cozy Ivy Dining venue. The event brought together a vibrant community of performers and enthusiasts for an evening filled with poetry, music, stand-up comedy, and more. Whether stepping up to the mic or simply enjoying the creative atmosphere, attendees experienced a memorable night of talents.

Participants had the option to sign up in advance via the link in our bio or register on-site, making it easy for anyone to join the fun. The open mic celebrated self-expression and artistry, creating a welcoming space for everyone—from seasoned performers to first-time creatives.

Stay tuned for updates on future events and opportunities to share your voice. Thank you to everyone who participated, attended, and made the evening unforgettable. We can’t wait to see you at the next Kashkul gathering!

To see the performances of our open mic, visit our Instagram channel.

The Mosul Maqam Festival is set to take place on September 27th in Mosul Forest Park.

About the Project
The Mosul Maqam project is dedicated to collecting and sharing the stories of Maqam practitioners and guardians in Mosul. Maqam is a system of melodic modes that is central to the traditional musical culture of the MENA region. Our mission is to support the preservation of the endangered Mosuli musical heritage for future generations by establishing a comprehensive repository for the Mosuli Maqam.

Festival Highlights
Join us for an unforgettable celebration featuring performances by:

- Maqam Masters: Ramiz al-Rawi and Fakhri Fadhil
- Maqam workshop students and emerging Artists who incorporate Maqam into their contemporary works with Amir El-Saffar, a celebrated trumpeter and composer who explores vital connections between jazz and the Iraqi Maqam.

Venue:
Mosul Forest (Mkhayyam Kashfi)

A beloved recreational area on the city’s left bank, the festival will not only honor the city’s musical heritage but will also celebrate Mosul’s resilience and the commitment of its people to revitalize their community.

Support
This project is made possible through generous funding from the British Council’s Cultural Protection Fund, in partnership with the UK Government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

Join Us!
Come and be part of this remarkable celebration of music, culture, and community. Together, let’s honor the past and inspire future generations!

Kashkul’s Summer Cinema Series

Discover arthouse and independent films from Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, and the Middle East every Tuesday at 3:30 PM in the Student Center. Enjoy chilled watermelons and explore cinema as a serious art form.

Open to the AUIS community!

The Preservation of Kurdish Music Through Oral History

A workshop with Rezhan Hassan

An event for young people to come together to share, learn, and shape the future of cultural preservation.

This event is exclusive to participants of our Mosul Maqam oral history workshops and members of the AUIS community.

Reflecting on an evening of enlightenment and exploration at Kashkul’s Meet the Artist series! We had the privilege of hosting the esteemed Kevin McKiernan, whose career as a veteran foreign correspondent, photographer, and filmmaker has traversed the globe, shedding light on pressing issues. From Nicaragua to Iraq, from West Africa to Afghanistan and Syria, McKiernan’s lens captures the essence of conflict zones and troubled regions.

During the event, we screened ‘Good Kurds, Bad Kurds,’ a powerful documentary challenging us to confront complex questions about national liberation and terrorism, allyship, and conflict. McKiernan’s work delves deep into the hidden war in Turkey, offering profound insights into immigration practices and U.S. foreign policy.

Our Meet the Artist series serves as a platform for engagement, inviting creatives locally and internationally to share their stories and experiences. Attendees were encouraged to ask thought-provoking questions during the Q&A session, with a rewarding prize awaiting the most challenging query: a whole watermelon and full digital access to McKiernan’s film.

In a world dominated by mass production, why should we cherish the art of felt-making? Unraveling this question, we delved into the intricate layers of history and culture with our visiting artist, Renas Babakir. 

Kashkul had the pleasure of hosting Renas in collaboration with the AUIS’ Alumni Talks series. Renas is a 2014 AUIS graduate with a master's in Cultural History from the University of Brighton, courtesy of the prestigious Chevening Scholarships. Her current research project, ‘Documenting the Lost Practices of Kurdish Felt and Felt-making in the Foothills of the Zagros Mountains', is supported by the Endangered Material Knowledge Programme (EMKP), hosted by the British Museum.

Together, we journeyed through the mesmerizing tale of felt-making—a craft deeply rooted in our collective past. From Mesopotamia's ancient traditions to the present day, felt-making isn't just about crafting textiles; it's a story of resilience, identity, and cultural heritage.

At Kashkul, we celebrated this rich heritage with a film screening on felt-making, followed by a captivating conversation and Q&A session with Renas and our students. Through this exchange, we delved into the cultural significance of felt garments like the Faranji, and the profound impact of preserving endangered material knowledge.

With every entanglement felt-making becomes more than just a craft; it's a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity.

On Thursday, March 7, 2024 Kashkul was honored to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Zheen Archives Center to celebrate our long-standing partnership and further enrich collaborations between the two centers and AUIS.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, Kashkul and KCAC, in collaboration with the University of Sulaimani Translation Department, hosted a reading and discussion session on Shene Muhammed’s translation of “The Food of the Mosque Servant” by Hejar Mukryani. The event featured an insightful conversation about the process of literary translation and addressed other questions specific to dealing with translation issues.

On Tuesday, February 27, Kashkul was delighted to collaborate with the AUIS Moulakis Library to host a conversation between Bryar Bajalan and Jiyar Homer on Jiyar’s translation of Juan Carlos Onetti’s “El Pozo” from Spanish Kurdish, which was published by Kashkul in 2022.

Kashkul hosts its annual Open Mic event at Ivy Dining & Co. in collaboration with the AUIS English department. The event welcomes the AUIS Community as well as talent from Sulaimani to perform prose, poetry, music, and everything in between.

Kashkul hosts the British Consulate at AUIS for a seminar on Chevening Scholarships, where your aspirations for higher education can be transformed into a remarkable and fully-funded reality.

Join us for a remarkable cultural exchange at Sulaimani Forum for Culture and Arts hosted by Kashkul which takes place at AUIS conference hall on Sunday, September 10th, 2023.