Highlights from our Inaugural Performing Arts Season

From October 14 to October 16, the Aga Khan Museum presented its second year of flamenco programming — this year complementing the special exhibition “Álvaro Siza: Gateway to the Alhambra.” Enjoy these select highlights from each performance in the festival, featuring such artists as Sara Jiménez Andrés, Cristian Pérez, Alfredo Tejada, and Patrocinio Hijo.

On Saturday, March 12, 2016, we welcomed a stellar line-up of artists — including Ostad Saeed Farajpoori, Fariba Davodi, Bamdad Fotouhi, and Ehsan Ghafari — to our auditorium during the Great Poets Series. Enjoy these select highlights from the event, animated by the mystical whirling dance of Farzad AttarJafari, featuring translations by Sheniz Janmohamed.

On Saturday, January 23, we welcomed Ali Riza and Hüseyin Albayrak — modern-day troubadours and heirs of the “Ashik” tradition of Anatolia — to deliver the passionate poetry of Sultan Shah Khatayi. Enjoy these select highlights from the event, featuring Kiya Tabassian on the sitar and Pooria Pournazeri on the “tambour.”

On Sunday, November 13, we welcomed historian Dr. Ross Burns, a key figure behind “Syria: A Living History,” to the Aga Khan Museum auditorium for an engaging lecture on Aleppo’s storied landscape. Enjoy this video of the event, featuring an introductory performance by the Nai Syrian Children’s Choir.

In May of 2017, the Aga Khan Museum welcomed musician-composer Malek Jandali to perform his adaptation of “Hurrian Hymn no. 6,” the oldest known written piece of music. The performance was recorded on a modern Disklavier, an acoustic piano outfitted with sensors that recognize the movements of the keys, hammers, and pedals during a performance. On playback, the keys and pedals of the Disklavier reproduce Jandali’s interpretation of the piece, retaining the tone and energy of his original performance — and demonstrating art’s ability not only to endure, but to also remain relevant century after century, generation after generation.

Enjoy these highlights from the event, featuring the following participating artists: Wendy Zhou — pipa Amely Zhou — erhu Aviva Chernick — vox Anwar Khurshid — sitar Ravid Kahalani (Yemen Blues) — gimbri, vox Shanir Blumenkranz (Yemen Blues) — oud Ahmed Moneka — percussion, vox Fethi Nadjem — oud, violin Sina Bathaie — santur Sirishkumar Manji — tabla Roa Hyunyoung Lee — gayageum Kobena Acquaa-Harrison — seperewa, guitar, talking drum

On January 19, 2018, the Aga Khan Museum welcomed a range of local artists to join members of the Israel-based band Yemen Blues and provide audiences with a live, informal jam session in the transformative space of our Mongolian yurt. Enjoy these highlights from the event, featuring the following participating artists: Wendy Zhou — pipa Amely Zhou — erhu Aviva Chernick — vox Anwar Khurshid — sitar Ravid Kahalani (Yemen Blues) — gimbri, vox Shanir Blumenkranz (Yemen Blues) — oud Ahmed Moneka — percussion, vox Fethi Nadjem — oud, violin Sina Bathaie — santur Sirishkumar Manji — tabla Roa Hyunyoung Lee — gayageum Kobena Acquaa-Harrison — seperewa, guitar, talking drum Produced by Alnasir Jamal

Nuit Blanche 2018 at the Aga Khan Museum

On September 29, the Museum was honoured to host Arrivals and Encounters as part of Toronto’s Nuit Blanche. The event would not have been possible without 80+ artists, 150+ staff and volunteers, and almost 8000 visitors. Thank you to all for making this a Nuit to remember! Music by OBUXUM

The World of Jahanara explores the inner life of Jahanara Akhlaq, a 24-year-old Kathak dancer, who, in her brief life, had fearlessly begun to make her mark in the dance world and envisioned a career in Canada.

The Aga Khan Museum is pleased to present the world premiere performance of Qudud Flamenco in collaboration with the Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal (FMA). This incredible work fuses flamenco with the traditional qudud of Aleppo – a classical music form that originated in Andalusia – and demonstrates the connections between the two genres.