Kassia: Poems of Protest
December 2023 - December 2024
ISTANBUL
The main objective of the "Kassia: Poems of Protest" project is to create a digital manifesto to contribute to inclusive art and history narrative, and to honor women’s voices and contributions in every period and culture, particularly in the city of Istanbul.
“Kassia: Poems of Protest” project is a study on remembering all aspects of Kassia, who is considered to be the world’s first female composer whose works have survived to the present day and who is also a composer, poet, high priest and free-spirited woman, who was born in 810 in this city, which was established as Byzantion in 660 BC, renamed as Constantinople in 330 AD and Istanbul in 1453. Having been developed to consider the philosopher, campaigner, networker, activist, innovative and feminist aspects of Kassia in addition to her composer and poet aspects, the project aims to expand the concept of nationalist “we” by offering a new “we” area for those living in a multicultural city such as Istanbul.
As an architect and artist who aims to produce multi-scale and multi-voice works, Buşra Tunç proposes a documentation study that will revive Kassia with her period and ideas, thereby creating a project that would emphasize the existence of Kassia. The main objectives of the study include enabling rediscovery of Kassia as an important figure, and making us think about Kassia’s lyrics and music, perceived limits of faith, nation, gender and memory 1222 years later. Focusing on important elements such as historical references, places and memory in her works, Tunç will create a door of dialogue for the ever-fluid, multicultural texture of the city of Istanbul with this project, and make us reflect on the role played by music and poetry throughout history and in the present day as a field of expression for women.
