Kyiv Biennial | Lucia Kagramanyan

Kyiv Biennial × Refuge Worldwide: Listening Sessions

This summer, Refuge Worldwide and the Kyiv Biennial come together for a series of Listening Sessions recorded live at KW Institute for Contemporary Art as part of A Bird That Cannot Land, the 6th chapter of the Kyiv Biennial, taking place in Berlin till 13 September 2026.

Conceived as an extension of the Biennial's Live Program, the Listening Sessions explore different geopolitical perspectives on sound through artist-led presentations, conversations, and collective listening. Bringing together musicians and researchers from different contexts, each session focuses on a distinct sonic practice as a starting point for exploring the social, cultural, and political worlds from which it emerges.

This recording captures the second Listening Session, which took place on 23 July 2026. On 25 June 2026, Stas Shärifulla and Ziliä Qansurá shared traditional songs and stories from Bashqort culture, and the series continues live at KW on 3 September, when Fehras Publishing Practices will introduce the 60s musical production of Arab music icon Fayrouz. If you're in Berlin, you can join the live sessions at KW before they are released here on Refuge Worldwide.

Episode 2: Lucia Kagramanyan — Panorama Yerevan: On Armenian Lullabies

Recorded live on 23 July 2026, sonic researcher and DJ Lucia Kagramanyan presents a listening session devoted to Armenian lullabies, drawing on her ongoing research into archival recordings and diasporic sonic histories. Through her radio project Panorama Yerevan, Kagramanyan works with material from the Public Radio of Armenia, bringing together rarely heard recordings spanning folk, opera, pop, and experimental music.

Moving between lullabies from Western and Eastern Armenia, the session traces how these songs shift across regions, generations, and historical periods, including recordings from the Soviet era. Traditionally created and passed on by women, lullabies are intimate monologues in which everyday life, grief, longing, and memory can be voiced. Through archival recordings and spoken context, the session considers how lullabies pass from one generation to another, and how personal and collective histories become embedded in song.