On August 8th, SEEDS_I play with Mozart project kicked off. Syrian violinist Alaa Arsheed and Venetian producer and guitarist Isaac de Martin will retrace the Balkan Route for a month, meeting refugees through their art.
Music and art will be the universal language to overcome ideological barriers. Step by step, the project wants to send a message on a path that unites people through art. The team will enter camps and become the voice and eyes for the refugees.
“I am thrilled with the idea that the power of art will make this journey happen! Through art we can send a message of peace throughout our journey and give a sign of hope to all those people who have been forced to leave their countries because of the war,” says violinist Alaa Arsheed.
“The encounter with each other is the most delicate and powerful way to grow as individuals and souls, and to experience life. In the encounter with Alaa and I, there was a spark that made me understand how powerful and universal Art is. This journey will give us the chance to trigger this encounter with people. I know I will have a lot to learn from this experience, this scares me but at the same time pushes me toward knowing myself in meeting others,” added Isaac.
The Journey
8 – 9 August Udine, Italy:
At the studio Carraro Chabarik of Laura and Mohammed, international mosaicists will take the first video footage and conduct interviews with the hosts. The day will continue at Laura and Mohammed’s home with a concert, where professional mosaicists will create a mosaic.
Moreover, Renata Lizzi, lecturer at the University of Bologna and Silvia Costantini, editor of Piuculture, will participate. The two key figures have supported and helped the project from its beginning.
16 – 22 August Belgrade, Serbia:
During the descent SEEDS_I Play with Mozart will meet the project Odyssey – a trip from Turkey to Belgium organized by Refugee Aid Serbia. Seeds will attend a series of events. The Odyssey festival in Belgrade is among the most important ones.
They have also planned musical activities and color workshops inside and outside the center of Refugee Aid Serbia. Mauro Brunato (musician) and Emanuela Peretto (bodypainter) will meet them in Serbia. They will probably visit a refugee camp in Belgrade, but it is still under way with UNHCR Serbia.
23 – 26 August Sofia, Bulgaria:
In Sofia, they will collaborate with local artists such as Konstantin Kuchev and Emil Ivanov Antonov. They will try to realize Isaac’s dream of recording a track with a choir of female Bulgarian voices. The clarinetist Michele Uliana of the Adovabadan Jazz Band and Thaer Maarouf, a painter living in Vienna, will join the group.
27 – 29 August Harmanli, Bulgaria:
Thanks to the Association on Refugee & Migrants – Bulgaria and the assistance of CARITAS Sofia, SAREF Bulgaria and UNHCR Bulgaria, the team will enter the Harmanli refugee camp. The musicians will play for and with the guests. They will offer musical sessions and a color workshop with the Syrian painter Thaer Maarouf.
30 – 31 August Plovdiv, Bulgaria:
Again, thanks to ARM – Bulgaria, with the help of Konstantin and Emil, Seeds will play in Plovdiv.
1 – 6 September Thessaloniki, Greece:
Finally, northern Greece will be the last stop of Seeds. A great concert in Thessaloniki will be held on the first week of September. Local artists and Italian friends will participate. At the same time, they are looking at the possibility of entering the refugees’ camps of Alexandria and Diavata.