Hear My Voice
December 2022 - September 2023
ISTANBUL, ADANA, HATAY
Based on the healing, transformative and unifying power of music, “Hear My Voice” aimed to open a space where “women whose voices are suppressed and silenced due to the roles, responsibilities and behavioural expectations set for them by the society” can express themselves freely. Music workshops were held with women from different age groups in neighbourhoods living under difficult socio-economic conditions in different provinces of Turkey in order to raise their voices and make them heard within the scope of this project in cooperation with Mor Dayanışma. The goal of the workshops was to enable women in our society to discover their potential and the healing power within them, to improve their self-confidence and quality of life, to enable them in raising their voices in confidence through music and to benefit from the power of unity by expressing their common problems through music which is enabling them to be ‘tuned’. An album was produced with the songs written during the workshops under the sponsorship of KALAN music, and the income from digital sales of the album will be donated to Mor Dayanışma, to support and ensure the continuity of women's studies.
To listen:
https://open.spotify.com/album/38OT8KTtVjq5AcDjVjMIIY?si=FNYx5Q_5TYuf0jRW_EY6Qg
Asena Akan
Born in Istanbul, Asena Akan started her music education with classical violin at the age of 5 at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory and continued her education in the Istanbul State Conservatory part-time Opera Department graduating in 1998. She did jazz vocal and theory studies with Randy Esen, Donovan Mixon and Aydın Esen. Akan, who has given many concerts since 2000, has released albums and singles of her own songs since 2013. The artist, who is in the bands of “ANDA”, “Flues”, “Serbest Bölge” and “Ahmet Beyler” in vocals and playing bass guitar, continues her musical journey with composition studies, music projects titled “Asena Akan&Tanju Eren” and “Asena Akan Contempo”. In addition to her passion for music, Akan, who has completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Psychological Counseling at Istanbul University, has been working with individuals and groups with different characteristics for 20 years with an interdisciplinary approach, and organizes seminars and workshops under the name of “Kendini Akort Et” (Tune Yourself) in order to disseminate the 'healing/transformative power of music'. She is the director of the "Music Therapy" Training Program at Bahçeşehir University Continuous Education Center (BAUSEM).
Affiliates:
Kalan Müzik
Kalan Müzik was founded in 1991 by Hasan Saltik. The purpose of its establishment is to collect lesser-known cultures and music genres as an archive and to create a market for such collections in the music market.
Mor Dayanışma
It is a women's charity organization that brings together women who fight against harassment, massacre of women, war, exploitation of the body and labour, looting of nature, homophobia, all forms of hierarchy, and all forms of violence against women. It started in 2015 when women from Antakya came together and established a neighbourhood association called Mor Dayanışma (Purple Solidarity). Currently, this organization has established women's councils in 10 provinces of Turkey and continues to expand their solidarity networks in other provinces. It prioritizes the development of feminist policies to prevent male violence and ensure gender equality. At the same time, it carries out various studies to put pressure on policy makers to take the necessary practices and measures to prevent violence. It organizes events, meetings, panels, and awareness raising activities and establishes solidarity networks in accordance with the needs of local women.
This page is published on 19 January 2023.
