Dialogue: Artistic freedom and art as an essential to life

Choreographer Ulduz Ahmadzadeh, multidisciplinary artist Atoosa Farahmand and former Malmö City sanctuary musician Yasmine El Baramawy meet in a conversation about artistic freedom, forbidden dance, and art as an essential part of life. Moderated by journalist Rafaela Stålbalk Klose, the discussion will be held in English.

Please note that this event takes place at Malmö Stadsarkiv, Friisgatan 19B in Malmö and is a collaboration with the City of Malmö as part of Open Malmö and Forbidden Culture Week.  

Ulduz Ahmadzadeh 

Ulduz Ahmadzadeh is a choreographer, performer, researcher and artistic director of the contemporary dance company عطش ATASH عطش. Born in Tehran, she started dancing in a country where it is still forbidden. Despite state censorship, she performed regularly with the Harekat company from 1999 to 2004. She was then imprisoned. After her release, she started her own dance company, which continues to be highly critical of the political system and explicitly addresses socio-political issues and cultural hierarchies. Ahmadzadeh studied directing at Soureh University of Arts in Tehran, contemporary dance pedagogy at MUK in Vienna and social design at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.  

Atoosa Farahmand

Atoosa Farahmand is a multidisciplinary artist and producer based in Sweden with an interest in politics, social issues and feminism. She is currently studying a BFA in Production Management at Stockholm University of the Arts. She mainly has worked in cultural institutions as a project leader, artistic director, choreographer and performer since arriving in Sweden as a refugee. Atoosa has widely exhibited and presented her work in solo and group settings in Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, UK and US.

Yasmine El Baramawy

Yasmine El Baramawy is an Egyptian musician, sound artist, Oud performer and composer who came to Malmö through the ICORN City of refuge programme in 2020. She develops an original sound universe around her practice of the Oud – one of the world’s oldest instruments, but also around concrete music and other electronic experiments. Besides music composition and sound design Yasmine is a political activist engaged in women’s rights.

About Nafas نفس Dansfestival 

Nafas نفس Dansfestival is a programme of international guest performances, workshops and talks that pose different perspectives to cultural heritage, how it is to live and work in the diaspora and dance as a forbidden part of life.