Kulturbunker, Korsi & KiMe präsentieren das Equinox Art Festival.

Korsi, Kulturbunker & KiMe present a celebration of renewal, art, and collective warmth

As the first rays of spring light pierce through the clouds, Cologne awakens to the promise of renewal. The Equinox Art Festival 2025 — jointly organized by Korsi, Kulturbunker Mülheim, and KiMe – Kinderhilfe Mesopotamien — invites the community to gather for Newroz / Nouruz, the ancient celebration of rebirth, resistance, and joy.

On March 22, 2025, the Kulturbunker’s walls will resonate with sound, poetry, and movement. It’s a gathering that honors tradition while shaping the language of contemporary art — where stories of diaspora, memory, and belonging find new rhythm through performance and collective presence.

The Meaning of Newroz

Newroz, or Nouruz, marks the spring equinox — a symbolic threshold where darkness yields to light. Across the SWANA and Kurdish regions, this day embodies hope, resilience, and community.
In Cologne, the Equinox Art Festival translates this ancient celebration into an interdisciplinary experience: a space for remembrance, artistic freedom, and the reaffirmation of life after long winters — literal and metaphorical.

“We want to use the magic of renewal to come together, despite the heaviness surrounding us,” says the Korsi collective. “Dancing around the fire, we drive away the darkness of winter and welcome the light of spring.”

Art Exhibitions: Transforming the Inner and the Visible

The festival opens with two exhibitions that reflect on transformation and identity:

• Ali Osman Yanak – “KABUK: Hülle”
  A poetic exploration of self-determination, change, and the layers we inhabit. Yanak’s visual work traces the tension between vulnerability and protection — between who we are and what we show.
• Setareh Karimi – “Körper und Poetik”
  Through figurative drawings, Karimi renders the body as a site of both memory and language — a space where emotion and resilience intertwine.

Poetry and Open Talk: The Blooming of Hope

At 19:30, the collective Kanax4Life and Friends, together with Korsi, present “Open Talk & Shared Poetry” — a circle of voices, verses, and spontaneous reflections.
It’s not a performance to be watched, but a space to feel with others: an invitation to speak, listen, and connect. The session, aptly titled “Die blühende Hoffnung” (The Blooming Hope), channels the emotional heartbeat of the evening — tenderness amid turbulence.

Concerts and Live Performances

Music becomes the bridge between generations, lands, and languages.
From delicate strings to electronic rhythms, the program honors the cultural continuum of the SWANA and Kurdish worlds while embracing innovation.

Performing Artists

• Soudabeh Samiei (Santoor) & Fouad Samiei (Tar) — a dialogue between ancient strings and familial legacy.
• Zainab Lax (Harp) — weaving ethereal tones through cross-cultural resonance.
• MaZeli Quartett — Nure Dilovani (Violin), Nurullah Turgut (Percussion), Merdan Zirav (Bass), and Zelal (Piano & Voice) reimagine Kurdish and Armenian melodies with new harmonic breath.
• Mustafa Demir (Saz) & Aziz Yiğit (Bilür) — merging the deep roots of Kurdish folk with contemporary electronic textures.

Each act unfolds like a conversation — not only between instruments, but between histories.

DJ Sets: The Pulse of Renewal

As the night deepens, rhythm takes over.
Three artists bring unique sonic interpretations of cultural hybridity and experimental soundscapes:

• Aamiro (Miaan Art / Refuge Worldwide) — blending electronic, experimental, and SWANA-influenced textures through a genre-fluid lens that bridges UK club and percussive layers.
• Midani & Rān (TIBA) — fluid, pulsating, and atmospheric — an exploration of emotional landscapes through sound.
• Mani (Timcheh) — weaving Persian warmth and contemporary beats, closing the night in full circle.

Community and Cause

The evening isn’t just a celebration — it’s an act of solidarity.
All proceeds go to Kinderhilfe Mesopotamien e.V. (KiMe), a Cologne-based organization supporting children in crisis areas across Turkey, Syria, and Northern Iraq.
By dancing, gathering, and sharing, participants contribute to humanitarian aid that reaches far beyond the city.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, 22 March 2025
Start: 17:00
Venue: Kulturbunker Mülheim Köln
Tickets: Rausgegangen Event Link
Organizers: Korsi, Kulturbunker Mülheim & KiMe
Supported by: Kulturamt der Stadt Köln & Bezirksvertretung Mülheim

A Celebration of Light and Togetherness

The Equinox Art Festival 2025 is more than an event — it’s a ritual of community care and cultural remembrance.
Through art, sound, and shared presence, it invites everyone to celebrate the return of the sun — and with it, the courage to begin again.

“In the dance around the fire, we drive away the darkness of winter and welcome the light of spring.”

This night at the Kulturbunker isn’t just about Newroz —
it’s about what we carry forward when we gather, and what we choose to leave behind.