International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance
A Non-Governmental Organization in Formal Consultative Relations with UNESCO
ICTMD Study Group on Music and Dance in the Turkic World
OBA Film & Video Festival 2026 – Call for Submissions
The OBA Film & Video Festival 2026 invites submissions for its inaugural edition, Unheard Stories: Music, Dance, Memory and Living Heritage Across the Turkic World, taking place 19–23 November 2026 at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Çanakkale, Türkiye.
An initiative of the Institute for Living Stories, presented in partnership with the ICTMD Study Group on Music and Dance in the Turkic World, and hosted by the Faculty of Music and Performing Arts and the Faculty of Communication at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, OBA is an international, artist-led, curated Film & Video Festival with a mentorship-based residency.
We welcome submissions from artists, researchers, musicians, dancers, archivists, media artists, digital creators, educators, students, cultural practitioners, and community knowledge holders whose work engages with music, dance, memory, archives, ritual, and living heritage through moving-image practices.
Submission deadline: 15 August 2026
For submission guidelines and further information, please visit livingstories.art/oba.
5th Symposium of the Study Group, Almaty, April 2016
Mission Statement
The Music and Dance in the Turkic World Study Group is dedicated to the practice, documentation,
preservation, and dissemination of the traditional music and dance found across the vast Turkic
World — stretching from South Siberia to the Mediterranean and extending into global diasporas.
This cultural sphere encompasses the artistic heritage of numerous communities, including Altai,
Azerbaijanis, Balkars, Bashkirs, Chuvashes, Crimean Karaites, Dolgans, Gagauz, Karachays,
Karakalpaks, Kazakhs, Khakas, Krymchaks, Kyrgyz, Nogais, Qashqai, Shors, Tatars, Turkmens,
Turks, Tuvans, Uyghurs, Uzbeks, and Yakuts, as well as historic states such as the Bulgars,
Göktürks, Khazars, Kipchaks, Seljuks, Timurids, and others. In an era of globalization and
shifting identities, the careful study of Turkic music and dance illuminates performance practices,
deepens cultural understanding, and supports the continuity of this rich and diverse heritage.
Contact details
Chair
Prof. Dr Abdullah Akat
Istanbul University State Conservatory, Department of Musicology,
Maltepe/Istanbul, Turkey, Tel: +90 543 9016578, e-mail: abdullahakat@istanbul.edu.tr
Vice-Chair
Prof. Dr Lala Huseynova
Vice-Rector of the Azerbaijan National Conservatory, Baku, Azerbaijan
Tel: +994-50-354-35-46, e-mail: lalahuseynova1962@gmail.com
Music Liaison
Assoc.Prof. Dr Galina Sychenko
President, Eurasia Archive named after Romano Mastromattei (Italy) / Novosibirsk, Russia
Tel: +39-39-21-279-251, e-mail: sytchenko@mail.ru
Dance Liaison
Sashar Zarif
Director, The Institute for Embodied Wisdom, Canada / Iran
Tel: +1 416 450-4529, e-mail: sashar@sashardance.com
Co-Secretaries
Assoc.Prof. Dr Valeria Nedlin
Kazakh National Conservatory named after Kurmangazy
Tel. +7 707 353 99 25 email: leranedlin@gmail.com
Prof. Dr Anna Oldfield
Coastal Carolina University