Concert: Common Space (فضای مشترک)

COMMON GROUND | Space of Common Ground

“Music remembers what borders cannot contain.”

COMMON GROUND brings together artists with roots across the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa) for a week of artistic exchange, collective creation, and musical dialogue.

The project begins with songs—songs passed down through generations, shaped by migration, and preserved through memory. Each artist brings music from their own cultural background, creating a starting point for a collaborative process of arrangement, improvisation, and exploration.

Throughout the residency, different musical traditions engage in dialogue with one another. Distinct artistic voices and perspectives come together not to merge into a single narrative, but to create a shared space where differences can be heard, respected, and transformed into something new.

COMMON GROUND explores themes of belonging, displacement, memory, resistance, and hope. Through collective creation and mutual listening, the project reflects the realities of living between cultures, languages, and places.

The concert presents newly developed arrangements and collaborations that bridge tradition and contemporary expression.

Artists

• Zainab Lax
• Burçin Keskin
• Şeyda Aktaş
• Eylem Külahçı
• Sara Hasti
• Imen Al Amouri
• Avin Ahmadi
• Farinaz
• Mitra Behpoori
• Lilit Tonoyan

Artistic Directors

Zainab Lax & Burçin Keskin

Concert 

August 8, 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Alte Pfandhaus, Cologne

In collaboration with Korsi Collective

For more info, visitKorsi Online/Instagram 

Poster by Salma Abdo

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COMMON GROUND | space shared

“Music preserves what borders cannot contain.”

COMMON GROUND brings together artists with roots in the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa) for a week of artistic exchange, collaborative creation, and musical dialogue.

The project takes songs as its starting point—songs that have been passed down through generations, shaped by migration, and preserved in memory. Each artist brings music from their own cultural background, thereby initiating a shared process of arranging, improvising, and musical exploration.

During the residency, diverse musical traditions engage in dialogue with one another. Different artistic voices and perspectives come together not to merge into a single narrative, but to create a shared space where differences remain audible, are respected, and something new can emerge.

COMMON GROUND explores questions of belonging, migration, memory, resistance, and hope. Through collaborative creation and mutual listening, the project reflects the experiences of a life lived across cultures, languages, and places.

The concert presents newly developed arrangements and collaborations between tradition and contemporary expression.

Performers

• Zainab Lax
• Burçin Keskin
• Şeyda Aktaş
• Eylem Külahçı
• Sara Hasti
• Imen Al Amouri
• Avin Ahmadi
• Farinaz
• Mitra Behpoori
• Lilit Tonoyan

Artistic Director

Zainab Lax & Burçin Keskin

Concert:

August 8, 2026 | 8:00 p.m.
Alte Pfandhaus, Cologne

In collaboration with Korsi Collective 

Korsi Online/Instagram 

Poster design: salma abdo