We’re delighted to announce Istimrar, a new commissioning project we’re partnering up on with our friends at Irtijal Festival. Through Istimrar, we’ll be helping Irtijal produce a series of newly commissioned works by Lebanese musicians, keeping the creativity of local artists alive.
As a result of a year of social and economic turmoil, Lebanon’s usually vibrant music scene has experienced severe challenges, with events and performances in Beirut coming to a standstill. This period of time has drastically affected the opportunities available for musicians working in Lebanon. Istimrar aims to address this difficult period for artistic communities – as Irtijal puts it, the project will help ‘keep the musical sector alive, no matter what’.
Through Istimrar, we’re supporting Irtijal in commissioning twelve composers and musicians living in Lebanon, providing them with the necessary tools to create a new music piece. The artists chosen for Istimrar will have total creative freedom in what they compose; we’ll be on board to help them with the conception, preparation and execution of these ambitious new pieces. Alongside Irtijal, we’ll handle the promotion and distribution of these commissioned pieces, ensuring them an international reach that will shed a light on the outstanding musical talent of Lebanon.
We’ll have lots more to share about Istimrar in the coming months. In the mean time, you can find out more about the project from Irtijal’s website.