Kyiv Biennial | Stas Shärifulla & Ziliä Qansurá

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 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 first Listening Session, which took place on 25 June 2026. The series continues live at KW on 23 July, when Lucia Kagramanyan will share her research on Armenian Lullabies, and 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 1: Stas Shärifulla & Ziliä Qansurá — Qosh yulı (The Path of the Birds)

Recorded live on 25 June 2026, Stas Shärifulla and Ziliä Qansurá share traditional songs and stories from Bashqort culture.

Qosh yulı—"The Path of the Birds," the Bashqort name for the Milky Way—is said to have been formed by the feathers of cranes, left behind to guide birds that had fallen behind. Across many traditions, birds are understood as earthly manifestations of ancestral spirits, making them recurring figures in song. Rather than approaching these songs as relics of the past, the session presents them as living practices that continue to offer orientation, memory, and connection today.