Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality is commemorating Eyşe Şan, one of the leading figures of Kurdish music, with a comprehensive two-day programme marking the 29th anniversary of her death, comprising a theatre performance, a panel and a concert. Staged at the Ali Emiri Cultural Hall, which has reopened after many years, the play “Ez Eyşe Şan” brought art and collective memory together on the same stage.
On the first day of the commemorative programme—organised in partnership with the Department of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs, the Women’s Culture, Arts and Literature Association (KASED), MA Music and the Tigris Culture and Arts Association—the theatre play titled “Ez Eyşe Şan (I Am Ayşe Şan)”, performed by Berfin Zenderlioğlu and presenting snapshots from Eyşe Şan’s life, met audiences.
The performance at the Ali Emiri Cultural Hall was attended by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak, DBB Council Co-Spokesperson Demet Ceylan, members of Ayşe Şan’s family and many residents. In the play, Ayşe Şan’s biography was brought to the stage through songs composed in keeping with the spirit of her era, while Berfin Zenderlioğlu’s performance offered the audience deeply moving moments.
Co-Mayor Bucak: “Ali Emiri Cultural Hall is alive again as a place of remembrance.”
After the performance, Co-Mayor Serra Bucak presented flowers to Berfin Zenderlioğlu—who received a standing ovation—and thanked her. In her remarks, Bucak underlined the significance of the reopening of the Ali Emiri Cultural Hall. Noting that the venue had remained closed for nearly nine years during the trustee period and had fallen into disrepair, and that it has now opened its curtains for the first time following renovation works, Bucak said: “We have brought this place back to life as a place of memory. The work carried out was not merely a technical refurbishment for us; it was a process driven very much by the heart. Because this was the stage of Kurdish theatre and of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality City Theatre. As we restored this stage, we said: let memory come alive again, let us be able to watch theatre plays here once more. And today that fell to Berfin Zenderlioğlu. Ayşe Şan’s play became the first play staged here after the renovation. In that sense it is very precious for us, and your being here is also very meaningful.”
Speaking after the play, Berfin Zenderlioğlu expressed her pleasure at performing in Diyarbakır. Zenderlioğlu thanked Zeynep Yaş, Head of the Department of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs, for her support during the preparation process.
Panel and concert to be held
The commemorative programme will continue on its second day as well. On Wednesday, 18 December at 13.00, a commemoration will be held at Eyşe Şan’s grave in Yeniköy Cemetery. Later the same day at 18.00, a panel titled “Ayşe Şan’s Musical Life” will be hosted at the Ali Emiri Cultural Hall.
Moderated by Saliha Ayata, the panel will feature presentations by Berfin Zenderlioğlu, “Ayşe Şan: A Woman Musician and Artist”, and Zeynep Yaş, Head of the Department of Culture, Arts and Social Affairs, “Ayşe Şan’s Life and Her Place in Kurdish Music”.
Following the panel, at 19.30, a special concert featuring Ayşe Şan’s works will be held. With 25 artists from MA Music, KASED, the Dicle Fırat Cultural Centre and the Aram Tigran City Conservatoire taking to the stage, Ayşe Şan’s voice and music will resonate in Diyarbakır once again.
Eyşe Şan, who passed away in İzmir on 18 December 1996, was brought to Diyarbakır on 18 June and laid to rest at Yeniköy Cemetery following a ceremony.
