In collaboration with the Maison Afghane-Canadienne, Festival Accès Asie presents the conference Afghanistan & Culture Shock. Following the launch of the photo exhibition, Smile of Afghanistan, we invite you to learn more about Afghanistan and its turbulent history.
This conference features Afghan speaker Zabi Enâyat-Zâda. The afternoon will open with a musical introduction by rabab player Behnaz Sohrabi. Author Zabi Enâyat-Zâda will give us insight into his country of origin through its history, culture, and the relations of men and women.
He will share with the audience his own experience as an Afghan, the challenges imposed by culture shock, and the resulting and gradual acclimatization to Quebec culture. We invite everyone to participate in the closing question and answer period.
Behnaz Sohrabi was born in Tehran, where she spent much of her youth studying the tar (a long-necked Persian lute). Sohrabi received a master’s degree in art research from the Tehran University of Art, writing her thesis on the comparative study of Torbat-e Jam regional music and Persian classical music (Dastgah). She specialized in Persian modal systems (Radif and Dastgah) and the folk music of Iran, studying under the tutelage of Ostad Lotfi, a grand master of classical Persian music. Sohrabi is passionate about music education, especially early childhood art education and has contributed to the field for over a decade. She has performed with various ensembles including Torgheh, Chakavak and Javanan Ensemble. Since arriving in Canada in 2014, she has been playing the rabab with the Montreal-based Ensemble Kamaan.
Zabi Enâyat-Zâda was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and left his native country at seventeen to flee the war between the Russians and the mujahedeen. Zabi arrived in Quebec as a refugee where he learned French. He began his university studies in Montreal. The privilege of being both Afghan and Quebecois has allowed Enâyat-Zâda to see the world through two points of view, opposing at times but harmonizing over the years. The richness of the Afghan culture of the 1960s and 1970s along with the open-mindedness of Montreal forged a new reality for him. The story of Enâyat-Zâda`s journey is told in the book, Afghan et musulman, le Québec m’a conquis.
Behnaz Sohrabi – Rabab Player
Zabi Enâyat-Zâda – Author and Public Speaker