From October 26 to November 30, the Mahalla Festival offers a platform for artistic exchange under the title Memento.
The Memento Festival will be organized in the frame of the Kite-Runner program.
The primary focus of Memento is on a reflection of global power structures, the alteration of gender roles, an awareness of a world that necessitates acknowledgment of human minorities and environmental protection alike, the enhancement of resilience, and the advancement of collaborative artistic endeavours.
“Memento” as a term for artistic discourse shall serve to perceive absences and offer ways to inhale and exhale memory to avoid the acceptance of neglect. Mahalla Memento aims to create a new vision of tomorrow by asking artists to work on the everyday life of the overlooked.
New narratives emerge through the interconnected practices of artists hailing from diverse regions and backgrounds.
The artistic works are developed from forgotten sounds of archives, poems written under suppression and vocalized by artists living in free societies, a mural uniting people exiled to different countries, Music exploring lost tunes, drifts through the district Fener in Istanbul exploring communities, a film examining the aesthetics of the far right in Europe. Tunes and melodies, verses, movements, and choreographies that move and unite and create a strong voice in a city in the centre of memento, Istanbul.
The expression memento mori (to be aware of mortality) is considered a symbolic trope recalling the inevitability of death. Memento mori, whether in the form of objects or images, were frequently intended to simultaneously serve as memento vivere, remembrances of life and the significance of living ethically and joyful. Mahalla Memento invites for reflection on topics related to the tension between awareness of mortality, the wish for eternity, and the desire to live in peace and safety in a globalized world.
Social and geographical boundaries, gender roles, and the exploiting of nature create dystopian environments that call for rethinking. The diverse forms of memory play an important role in establishing the stories of various players within a past. Reflecting diverse narrative styles or inventing fresh tales is one of the primary objectives. The artists are free to use any artistic form or style. Innovative interpretations of the leitmotif are appreciated.