Our Canvas
Uplifting Uyghur artists in their creative journeys. This is an art gallery project showcasing and celebrating the art made by our community. We are filming, interviewing, or platforming Uyghur creators speaking about their artistic journeys and process to share with the community around the world.
Hide and Seek: Touring the Jana Cekara Film Festival Exhibition
The purpose of the Jana Cekara film festival (2023) was to showcase films about East Turkistan. Set to be an in-person event in Almaty, it was forced to move online after pressure from officials. Watch a tour of an art exhibition held in its stead.
-2024
Behind the Scenes with the London Silk Road Collective
Take a look behind the scenes at how the London Silk Road Collective transforms traditional songs into moving new experiences.
-2023
Talking to the Artist Camilla Dilshat
In Summer 2022, Camilla Dilshat collaborated with Our Canvas to produce two videos on her creative process as she prepared for an upcoming exhibition. This was a really fascinating project, and we hope you enjoy what we discovered.
-2022
While preparing pieces to exhibit at an exhibition, Camilla Dilshat takes us through what gourds can reveal about shelter and comfort, and what we can face when we begin to feel safe. In this video, Camilla Dilshat demonstrates how giving voice to her intuition reveals the path forward in building her pieces. On Camilla Dilshat’s portfolio, her work is described as “a reaction to her diasporic experiences growing up as a British-born Uyghur. She addresses the visceral discomfort of disconnection to traditional culture and a physical homeland.”
With Singer and Musician Dilzat Turdi
Born in Karamay, Dilzat Turdi is the youngest singer for the Uyghur European Ensemble, which plays in concerts across Europe as well as online for listeners to enjoy in remote locations worldwide. Currently based in London, Dilzat Turdi is studying Music Sound & Technology at City University of London. He is also learning the dutar, which he had played at events such the 'In Honour of Uyghur' cultural event at SOAS university.
-2023
'Yoshurmigin Siringni', a cover by Dilzat Turdi
Abdulla Abdurehim is one of Dilzat's main musical inspirations, and as a child he began training his voice by following Abdurehim's discography. This song is from Abdurehim's 1995 ‘Sherin Chush’ album.
He is dedicated to sharing Uyghur music to wider audiences, and creating atmospheres where people can resonate with forgotten parts of themselves through music.
This is a cover of the piece originally performed by Eziz Mamut. Dilzat was surrounded by musicians while growing up in Karamay. His grandfather could play many instruments, and gatherings for playing traditional songs was a pillar of family life.
While there is less opportunity for joyful sharing of music in the UK, Dilzat Turdi still finds opportunities to sing and play the dutar at friends' weddings. This was where he first met Muhtar Abdukerim Janbaz, the founder of the Uyghur European Ensemble.
Uyghur European Ensemble is a cultural artistic and music group that established in 2019 by a group of diaspora Uyghur folk artists and musicians from Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, France, England and Belgium.
The Ensemble currently focusses on maintaining Uyghur culture traditions in western countries, conduct public performances or shows of Uyghur folk music, particularly the 12 Muqam folk repertoire. But the Ensemble is also dedicated to keeping endangered Uyghur culture alive and pass it on the future generations, so they are collecting and conducting research on the Uyghur music and lyrics prohibited by the Government of China. In future, the Uyghur European Ensemble plans to arrange Uyghur music courses for Uyghur children living in the diaspora.
'Yultuzum Aldimda' a cover by Dilzat Turdi
Dilzat has covered a few of Abdulla Abdurehim's pieces. Dilzat is planning to release his own music in future, so is working to understand where his own voice and style will fit on the musical landscape. He sometimes collaborates with his younger brother, a developing guitar player, to experiment with new sounds.
With Multidisciplinary Artist Mukaddas Mijit
Mukaddas Mijit was born in Urumchi, the capital of Uyghur Homeland. She is an ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, internationally-acclaimed dancer and music manager.
-2024
In 2003 Mukaddas Mijit came to Paris to study classical music. The non-visibility of Uyghur culture made her decide to study Ethnomusicology to enable her to promote her own culture. In 2015, she obtained her PhD degree on ethnomusicology, researching about “Staging of Uyghur Dance and Music”. She speaks fluently in Uyghur, Chinese, French, English, Turkish, Uzbek, Kazakh and Kirgiz.
As a filmmaker, she has produced several ethnographic documentary films, including “Qetiq, Rock’n Ürümchi” (nominated in the 10th Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival in 2014), and 30 boys: Uyghur Meshrep project. Most recently, she wrote and co-directed a medium-length film "Nikah" about the challenges that Uyghur women face from both traditional social mores and the highly oppressive political environment in China. She is the co-creator and co-host of “WEghur Stories,” a podcast entirely about the global Uyghur diaspora. Most recently, she co-edited an anthology about Uyghur contemporary and oral literature in French, published by Jentayu.
A Dance Piece: 6 Metres of Etles
"Our death is simple, but other's are unbearable"
-Jean Cocteau
This performance is dedicated to the disappearing friends and families form the Uyghur Region in western China. It is for those who are invisible and those who are in despair and cannot know where their loved ones are. It’s dedicated to the 56 professors from Xinjiang University who have disappeared this year. It is a modest way, but we will always tell their stories, even when there is no-one to listen.
A poetry recital: Almikhan's Tears
In 2012, the Chinese government celebrated Mo Yan, the 1st Chinese citizen to win a Nobel Prize in literature.
In 2017, it threw his Uyghur translator, poet Abduqadir Jüme, in an internment camp.
He's still there.
3 years later, Abduqadir is still imprisoned.
3 years later, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Mo Yan has not said one word
about the internment of his translator.
3 years later, one of Abduqadir's poems still echoes in my mind.
A documentary film: Dolan Fever
As well as her dance, activism and poetry, Mukaddas Mijit has also focused on documentary form as an urgent key to archiving Uyghur art, music and culture.
With Mirkamel and WTFkistan, a Rock Band Singing Uyghur Poetry
-2024
Photo courtesy of Ana Poala Leduc
Mirkamel was born in Urumchi and lived there for half of his life. He came to France in 2005 to pursue his studies in digital filmmaking, with a focus on 3D animation. In 2008, during the filming of a documentary for Arte called "The Awakening of the Uyghurs" ("Le Réveil Des Ouïghours" by Éric Darbré) he was arrested in Kashgar with two French journalists. Facing the risk of imprisonment, he quickly fled before the documentary was aired, without his family knowing what had happened in Kashgar. It was just the beginning of a life where everything changed. Thanks to this documentary, he saw another reality of his people's lives that his parents had not divulged in him in order to protect him. He made the decision to embark on a one-way trip, no turning back - exile.
Listen to WTFkistan's rendering of the poem “Longing” written in Uyghur by Fatimah Seyyah and translated by Munawwar Abdulla. A reflective poem that interrogates and offers responses to the questions of homeland, with a specific focus on what it means to think of the homeland as an Uyghur in exile.
Since that day, alongside obtaining his degree, he continued to work under a pseudonym for reports, documentaries, or films on various Uyghur-related subjects in France or elsewhere. His intention was to protect his family, who had nothing to do with his work, but who still faced political pressure in various forms. He spent the rest of his life in a state of perplexity, torn between quietly engaging in the Uyghur cause and not putting his family at risk, and feeling useful for their cause and lacking the courage to go further. He closed himself off, and at the same time, he felt misunderstood by his family and those close to him.
In May of 2023, with the accumulation of political pressures and transnational repression from China, he reached a breaking point and found himself in a mental health hospital. In terms of treatment, he didn't receive much support. However, since that time, he started searching for solutions to regain his footing. With the help of caring friends in France, he made the decision to no longer hide and sought a solution to help free himself.
A friend, Désiré, had already suggested working on a project together after their first Norouz concert with the European Uyghur Institute in 2022. As a professional musician, he assured Mirkamel that he would help him progress if he continued with his compositions. Haydar, the Franco-Turkish drummer with whom they had already formed WTFkistan, shared a passion for poetry. And so, like many Uyghurs, Mirkamel decided to lean in to that. When he read poems, he felt melodies behind them. His friends understood and supported him in creating a project collaborating with poets. He started reaching out to exiled poets like Tahir Hamut Izgil, Fatimah Seyyah, and Ehmetjan Osman, to share his upcoming projects and also to thank them for the significant role their works played in his life. He also contacted Joshua Freeman and Munawwar Abdulla, who translated many of these poems into English. He thought they were unreachable people, but in reality, they were generous and humble.Their encouragement and trust in them gave them the idea to start an open project to welcome other artists and activists interested in this topic. Their goal is not only to hold concerts but also to promote poets and other individuals in this project. Mirkamel has been able to compose 14 songs in the past half year, and the band has been working on arranging the music. Désiré recorded them, and his friend François, a sound engineer, is helping them finalise the recordings. Recently, they welcomed Oscar and Ana-Paola to help film their rehearsals. Oscar expressed his intention to create a documentary about this project, planning to meet poets, translators, and conduct interviews. Mirkamel's friend Alex has also volunteered to assist them in managing social media. While they are at the beginning of their careers, they are already gaining support. They currently have a label interested in their project and a web designer ready to create a website for them if needed.
Listen to “Sitting in the Sun” by Tahir Hamut Izgil and translated by Joshua Freeman. Izgil is one of the foremost poets writing in Uyghur today, as well as a filmmaker who fled to the US in 2017 as China began to imprison intellectuals. In exile, he writes: “I’ve piled certainties beside me/ tossed probabilities down below / and closed myself completely / …Carry on your conversation and don’t block out my sun”
Regardless of what happens, they want to remain simple as a bedroom rock band. They trust in their project, seeking positive vibes together. They have understood and learned that the more they open up to others, the more support they receive.
Personally, it's the most beautiful gift Mirkamel has ever received in his life. He found a solution to help him free himself and not be overwhelmed by stress or depression caused by politics. It was much more effective and healthy than the strong medications he used to take. If he has to thank someone, it's his friends, these poets, and the translators. And may his family forgive him; he is aware of what they will endure.
Why WTFkistan?
The question that often comes up and creates confusion is why WTFkistan? It’s not an insult to the culture. It’s to highlight the world's ignorance of the Uyghur people. "Wtf" reflects the bewildered reactions received when Uyghurs explain their culture, history, and geography. "-stan" as a suffix refers to Central Asian countries.
The second question is, why are most songs in English? Mirkamel has worked a lot with survivors from the camps for documentaries, including Sayragul Sauytbay, whom he met during the release of her book in France. She told him that he must sing in English. It’s important that the world hears them at all costs. For him, re-reading poetry in English allows him to carefully digest each word in a foreign language, something he didn't pay as much attention to in his native language. He now better understands the importance of using each word thoughtfully.