The II Korkut Sonic Arts Triennale and the Tselinny Center for Contemporary Culture in Almaty and CTM Festival explored a two-part collaboration around the theme of Resynthesising the Traditional. Dedicated to sound and listening, the Korkut II Triennale creates a space for a wide range of sonic practices without restricting them by institutional boundaries.
Part 1: Resynthesising the Traditional Artistic Lab
In October 2025 the Triennale hosted warm-up activities in the shape of the Resynthesising the Traditional artistic lab. Under the title »The Wind Howls« it focused on aural traditions and the wind as both a powerful cultural symbol and physical element.Six fellows selected by open call – Aina Zhekebatyr aka Archeprototype, Airat Khaziev, Bruno Trochmann, Jena Jang, Rami Harrabi aka VIRUS2020, and Mara Lalihatu aka XAKALELE – selected by open call took part in a 10 day long residency housed at the Tselinny Center for Contemporary Culture and was hosted by Medina Bazarğali and Bilawa Respati. Fellows presented their practices to the public on 17 October 2025 and further insight into lab ideas and processes were shared at a roundtable on 23 October 2025.
Part II: Performances and Presentations at the Korkut II Triennale
In May and June 2026, under the title of »Rites of Eternal Wind,« the Triennale hosted a myriad of sound installations and live events, listening sessions and soundwalks, hybrid lectures, discussions and workshops, including several threads that evolved from the warm-up artistic lab. Cevdet Erek's modular sound installation »Ortalık« was seen in constant transfiguration over the course of the Triennale, including via a live performance activation by Erek himself. The work-in-progress performance of »The Dream Has Still Not Whispered« was a new commission by experimental gamelan composer and performer Bilawa Ade Respati, extreme vocalist Karina Utomo, and guitarist and producer Şüräle resulting from the Resynthesising the Traditional artistic lab. Towards the end of the Triennale, the curator and poet Anuar Duisenbinov hosted a discussion on Resynthesising the Traditional with Aisha Orazbayeva, Rustem Myrzakhmetov, and Şüräle on how cultural memory and lived environment have gradually emerged to shape their practices, even when they did not set out to explicitly engage with tradition.
| Airat Khaziev | Aisha Orazbayeva |
| Anuar Duisenbinov | Archeprototype |
| Bilawa Respati | Bruno Trochmann |
| Cevdet Erek | Jena Jang |
| Karina Utomo | Medina Bazarğali |
| Rustem Myrzakhmetov | VIRUS2020 |
| XAKALELE |
The Resynthesising the Traditional artistic lab in Almaty was kindly supported by Goethe-Institut Kazakhstan.
»The Dream Has Still Not Whispered« is commissioned by the Korkut II Triennale and CTM Festival. Bilawa Ade Respati's participation is kindly supported by Goethe-Institut Kazakhstan.
»Ortalık« is commissioned by the Korkut II Triennale, while Cevdet Erek’s opening performance is commissioned by CTM Festival.