Introduction
Aizhan Sultan is a singer, composer and educator based in Finland originally from Kazakhstan. Her compositions derive inspiration from Kazakh folk and contemporary music to reflect on her journey around the world and her inner political and social experiences. She offers a unique synthesis of genres to continuously decolonise herself, whilst having at heart the accessibility of her music to a greater audience. Her main goal is to represent and make accessible Central Asian, in particular Kazakh, music and art to the international audience. The author is giving the audience the opportunity to discover more the art and history of the Kazakhs.Her story is about love and pain, worry and longing for one’s native land.
The work of Aizhan Sultan is centred around the disability issue and colonisation of Kazakhstan by the USSR and how these two factors changed the perception of the Kazakh people about her music and cultural identity. As a woman living with achondroplasia, she has an intimate relationship with power as a source of oppression, but also solidarity and art as a power of emancipation.
Aizhan Sultan (Finland, Kazakhstan) - vocal
Technical Information
Two half-hour sets (1 Hour). It is possible to play without amplification, but it is preferable depending on the hall.