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By supporting Dîwan, you contribute to the fight against assimilation policies and lend a voice to the untold stories of Kurdish heritage.
Together, we can make a difference.
DÎWAN INTERNATIONAL THEATRE ACADEMY IN A NUTSHELL
We are a 15 years old Kurdish theatre group, called Şermola Performance and chasing our dream, a theatre school called "Dîwan International Theater Academy" in Batman (TR). For this, we have rented a 420 m2 space with the support of CultureCivic and started renovation with our own resources. We need your support to complete the construction of the Academy space and open it at full capacity on October 17, 2023, our 15th birthday.
We aim to provide practical and theoretical contemporary theatre and acting training in Kurdish, offer international exchange programs, establish relations with other schools and disciplines around the world, and thus contribute to the Kurdish theatre dynamics in Batman and the surrounding provinces. This project will be a first in its field! Because there isn't any theater school in Turkey providing professional theatre education in the Kurdish language.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We need donations, large or small. If you cannot help financially, you can still join this effort by sharing this campaign on social media, with friends and family.
WHAT DO WE WANT?
We want Kurdish children and youth to receive a quality theatre education in their mother tongue. Dîwan Academy will be an important space for children, youth, women and workers living in Batman, as well as an important opportunity for people living in neighboring cities.
WHO ARE WE?
Şermola Performance was founded in Istanbul in 2008 by Mirza Metin and Berfin Zenderlioğlu. In 2016, we had to close our stage in Istanbul and then we became multi-centered. In addition to Istanbul, we established our offices in Germany in 2018 and Batman in 2021. We develop original Kurdish plays and theatre training and conduct research in the field of acting. We have realized dozens of tours, participated in festivals, and our plays have received 18 different awards.
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WHAT IS "DÎWAN INTERNATIONAL THEATER ACADEMY"?
Dîwan Academy is an independent theatre school, a Şermola organization, based in Batman.
"Dîwan" is also a laboratory where Kurdish rituals, dances, traditional music, theater and storytelling forms are transformed into acting exercises, developed by Mirza Metin.
OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
We aim to liberate Kurdish theatre and performative arts from the colonial yoke and to research, systematize, develop and disseminate its own stage language and working methods. We aim to be a center in Kurdistan for arts education for children, women, youth and workers. We aim to communicate with theatre training institutes in important cultural and artistic cities of the world and to bring together teachers from different theatre schools with our students from Batman regularly. We aim to send our students to theatre education institutes in important cultural and artistic cities of the world through various exchange programs. We aim to host young people from different countries of the world in Batman and introduce them to the "Dîwan" method of acting. We aim a bridge between Kurdish theatre and world theatre, festivals and institutions. In addition to theatre actors, Diwan Academy also aims to work with artists from other disciplines, different age groups, genders and social segments.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT DÎWAN ACADEMY?
1) Practical and Theoretical Training
-Acting Methods, Acting in Front of the Camera, Directing, Creative Drama, Dramatic Writing, Storytelling, Modern Dance, Ballet, Traditional Kurdish Dances, Rhythm and Body Percussion, Stran and Kilam Studies, Yoga and Meditation Classes
-World Theatre History and Theories, Mythology and Ritual Studies, Dramaturgy and Reji, Kurdish Theatre History, Performance Theories, Classical Kurdish Literature, Modern Kurdish Literature, Kurdish Folklore and Folk Literature, Kurdish Language courses
2) International Exchange
-Cooperation with important theatres, institutes, festivals and educational institutions around the world will be established and exchange and training programs will be carried out. In this way, direct relations between Kurdish theatre and world theatre will be developed.
-Through these programs, Academy students will receive training from different schools in Batman, and will have the opportunity to get to know the theatre sector and it's functioning closely in the world through tours and exchange programs.
WHAT COSTS WILL WE COVER WITH YOUR HELP?
With the first 3.000 Euro, we will cover the cost of the main stage seats and backstage furnitures.
The next 3.000 Euro will cover the sound insulation systems of the academy.
The following 14.000 Euro will be spent on the sound and light systems.
If we get enough support and exceed our goal of 20.000 Euro, we want to use that amount to cover the cost of the heating, cooling and ventilation systems (10.000 Euro), which is vital considering the weather in Batman during Summer!
SOCIAL MEDIA
For updates about the academy or to help spread the word, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Thank you to everyone who works and supports Kurdish theater!
Fundraising team: Şermola Peformans (3)
Mirza Metin
Organizer
Cologne, Nordrhein-Westfalen
Berfin Zenderlioğlu
Team member
Hazni Demir
Team member