An immersive listening session at the Shakir Ali Auditorium drew listeners as interdisciplinary artist, journalist and folk music activist Ahmadali Kadivar guided an audience through soundscapes that link memory, resistance and collective mourning. The programme, presented as Gham-e-Sarkesh, unfolded as a public event hosted by the National College of Arts and centred on attentive listening rather than conventional performance.
Kadivar drew on the Sedakhane Iranian Folk Music Library, interweaving archival folk recordings with contemporary compositions to illustrate how songs can preserve stories of grief and defiance across generations. The use of rare field recordings alongside new arrangements highlighted the archival life of folk material and its capacity to carry social memory.
The session’s immersive format allowed archival voices to sit beside modern interpretations, inviting the audience to reflect on how sound operates as a vessel of collective memory and political expression. Attendees responded with quiet attention, indicating how such projects can deepen public understanding of cultural histories and shared loss.
Gham-e-Sarkesh emphasised the intersections of sound, memory and struggle, and served as a reminder of how art continues to give voice to shared histories. Kadivar’s curation of archival material and contemporary sound-making underlined music’s enduring ability to keep stories of sorrow and resistance audible for present-day audiences.
