Imagine Tour at Flagey

Musicians from Mosul (Iraq) will perform a wide variety of music, from instrumental music inspired by Arab culture, to Western music from the 1980s. They will alternate melodies, stories about life in Mosul, and talk about the challenges met by musicians in a city governed by IS. We will have the honor of welcoming Rudi Vranckx as moderator.

Flagey, Canvas

Mosul, June 2017. Rudi Vranckx visits the Mosul music school. After the passage of Islamic State fighters, only ruins remain. Two musicians play John Lennon's Imagine on guitars they had buried during IS occupation. People in Flanders were moved by these images and the Vranckx’s editorial board was soon flooded with messages from people wanting to send their instruments to Mosul.

In September, Rudi, Brahim, and their team left for Mosul, their suitcases laden with instruments. They encountered obstacles during the trip, but the joy of the teachers and students of the school receiving the instruments was worth it. Since then, music can be heard again in the streets of Mosul.

In May, a delegation of Iraqi musicians will come to Belgium. The musicians will meet the people who gave them their instruments, to meet Brahim again, and visit our country. But above all, they will come to play music! « Because music is a universal language, a language that everyone understands. » (Caryl Atraqchi, music teacher)

The musicians will stay in Belgium for two weeks, from May 1 to 14, for a tour through Flanders with concerts in Brussels (during Difference Day, organized by the VUB), Lier (LIERische Kunstenfestival) and many other places. But above all, it will be the occasion for them to meet the Flemish people who sent them the musical instruments they’re now playing.