Khabat Abas

Khabat Abas is an Iraqi-Kurdish artist whose work reflects on the sociopolitical circumstances in Iraqi Kurdistan. She explores the boundary between her past as a music student in Iraqi Kurdistan during wartime with the performativity and materiality of sound. She is also interested in the stories, objects and sounds that surround women in this region, using her own mother’s in her work. She considers herself a rule-breaker, moving freely between artistic disciplines and possibilities with a focus on the cello, making the instrument into a different material, improvising, composing and producing sound installations, while also being interested in making videos.

Abas has performed with various ensembles, including the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, Sulaymaniyah string orchestra, Gothenburg Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Non-Ensemble for experimental music. She has also collaborated with curators, artists and musicians in Kurdistan-Iraq, Sweden, Germany and the UK. Abat’s last piece for electro-acoustic cello was performed in Slemani-Kurdistan as a part of the Global Listening Biennial 2021. She also performed during Space21 festival in Iraq Kurdistan 2021, the winter sound festival in Canterbury 2022 and the Borderline Festival Athens 2022.