For AFSACK’S 11th Salon Conversation, we are thrilled to present an insightful dialogue featuring the visionary Sumayya Vally. “Threads of Culture” seeks to engage in a profound dialogue on design, identity, and spirituality with the distinguished architect to traverse the interwoven narratives that shape our spaces and souls.

Join us for this session as we unravel the intricate connections between cultural threads and architectural narratives, exploring how design weaves together diverse identities and spiritual dimensions in our built environment.

Through the lens of Vally’s insights, this thought-provoking conversation transcends conventional boundaries and consider redefining the essence of space and spirituality.

Embark on a captivating conversation with the renowned Finnish architect, scholar, author, and former professor and Dean of architecture at the Helsinki University of Technology, Juhani Pallasmaa, to unravel the creative and formless quality of architecture as he presents, "Poetics of Architecture: Existence, Silence, and Solitude." This moderated session will explore the abstract connection between architecture and the atmospheres it traces, delving into the poetic core that resides within the built environment.

Join us for an inspiring and thought-provoking virtual conversation with architect and author Nader Ardalan on Persian architecture

Join us on Saturday, June 18th for our next AFSACK Salon Series Conversation with the MTO Zendeh Delan Ensemble. This virtual conversation will premiere the ensemble’s latest project Majnun, a video adaptation of twelfth-century poet Nizami’s narrative poem Layla and Majnun. Through sama—the Sufi practice of listening with the heart that fuses motion, music, and poetry—the ensemble highlights the key moments in the celebrated story that speak to principles of Sufism. With Nizami’s poem frequently interpreted as a Sufi allegory, this conversation reflects on the unique nature of literary allegory to evoke love within the context of Sufism.

This event will take place on Zoom. Register here.

Join us on Wednesday May 4th for our next AFSACK Salon Series Conversation with the MTO Zendeh Delan Ensemble. This discussion explores the eclectic sounds of their new album, Melodies of Unity, diving into their creative process and inspirations from Sufi poetry. The conversation further examines their experiences of recording and making new music remotely during the pandemic across four countries. Listen to a recent interview with BBC Radio here to learn more about Zendeh Delan.

This event will take place on Zoom. Register here.

Join us for a live conversation with composer, trumpeter, santur player, and vocalist Amir Elsaffar.

Amir ElSaffar has been described as “uniquely poised to reconcile jazz and Arabic music,” (the Wire) and “one of the most promising figures in jazz today” (Chicago Tribune). A recipient of the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award and a 2018 US Artist Fellow, ElSaffar is an expert trumpeter with a classical background, conversant not only in the language of contemporary jazz, but has created techniques to play microtones and ornaments idiomatic to Arabic music that are not typically heard on the trumpet.

A selection of Amir ElSaffar’s past performances can be viewed here.

This event will take place on Zoom. Register here.

Join us for an artist talk featuring vocalist, composer, and poet Walid Ben Selim.

Inspired by classical poetry of the Arab world, Walid Ben Selim’s music experiments across genres, sounding through traditional vocalizations, spoken word, hip hop, rock and cross-cultural collaboration. Following a recorded discussion on the role of classical Sufi poetry in Ben Selim’s creative practice, the France-based artist will join us for a live Q&A with ethnomusicologist and performer-composer Payam Yousefi.

A selection of Walid Ben Selim’s past performances can be viewed here.

This event will take place on Zoom.
Register here.

Join us for a fascinating conversation between Peter McMurray, Professor of Ethnomusicology at University of Cambridge, and Bissera Pentcheva, Professor of Art History at Stanford University, as we discuss the significance of sound in the Hagia Sophia.

In recent years sensory studies have emerged as a lens of inquiry across academic disciplines presenting exciting insights for historians and ethnographers.

In this salon talk we will explore the works of our special guest speakers and explore how sensory studies can present new potentials in understanding the historical and contemporary.

View the event recording here.

Join us for a special conversation with members of the MTO Zendeh Delan ensemble on the topic of Sama, the Sufi practice of listening with the heart that fuses motion, music, and poetry.

View the event recording here.