At the water's edge
6+ years MS Stubnitz – Kultur, Raumschiff Kirchenpauerkai 29, 20457 HamburgA reading performance
How can songs, gatherings and oral traditions continue to shape emotional connections to homeland long after migration?
Rooted in autobiographical reflections and inherited stories, this reading performance by Atena Eshtiaghi and Sarah Savalanpour combines spoken text and live sound to explore generational memory, collective rituals, and experiences of displacement. The performance draws its sonic language from the atmosphere of the sea and from rhythms connected to southern Iran, combined with electroacoustic textures, field recordings, and live sound.
Moving between memory and myth, the performance creates an intimate listening environment where personal memories meet collective histories. The work reflects on how sound, storytelling, and gathering can preserve feelings of belonging across borders, distances, and generations.
Atena Eshtiaghi she/her
Atena Eshtiaghi (she/her) is an Iranian composer, cellist, and double bass player based in Hamburg, Germany. Born in Tehran in 1989, she studied classical and traditional Persian music and performed internationally with ensembles including the Tehran Symphony Orchestra and the Iran National Orchestra alongside artists such as Kayhan Kalhor and Mohammadreza Shajarian.
Since 2021, Eshtiaghi has composed music for acclaimed films including “I’m Trying to Remember”, “Endless Borders”, and “My Stolen Planet”, earning the German Documentary Music Award at DOK.fest München in 2024 and 2026. A Berlinale Talents alumna and member of the European Film Academy, she co-founded Duo Azadi, established Ateneum Music Studio, and continues to work across film composition, sound art, and interdisciplinary performance.
Sarah Savalanpour she/her
Sarah Savalanpour (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist, media researcher, and film curator. Her practice moves between archival practice and filmmaking, exploring the afterlives of still and moving images. She holds a BFA in Time-Based Media and an MA in Art Education from HFBK Hamburg. She is part of the curatorial team of dokumentarfilmwoche Hamburg and co-founder of para-education e.V., a collective dedicated to critical art education in public and institutional contexts.