The Ashik Art Symposium, held for the sixth time this year at the Mustafapaşa Campus, took place on July 13-14, 2026, with the theme “Modern Times.” At the symposium, the connection that the ashik tradition, kept alive for centuries through the master-apprentice relationship, has established with digitalization and social transformation was addressed from the perspectives of different disciplines.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Gökkaplan and Asst. Prof. Dr. Çağla Yılmaz inaugurated the event, to which Prof. Dr. Anna Oldfield, Prof. Dr. Abdullah Akat, Prof. Dr. Özlem Doğuş Varlı, Prof. Dr. Sevilay Çınar, Prof. Dr. Feyzan Göher, Prof. Dr. Ersen Varlı, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Makbule Oral, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yusuf Benli, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Fidan, and Belkıs Hilal Ulaş contributed with their papers. In the sessions, a broad framework stretching from Azerbaijan to Siberia was drawn by discussing topics such as the digital age, archiving, community memory, new performance venues, female performers, and recording technologies. The presentations revealed that the ashik tradition has a dynamic structure that continues to exist by transforming with new mediums and technological opportunities.
The symposium series, which started in 2021, has turned into an institutional scientific tradition with its annually changing themes. Throughout the process, the Alevi-Bektashi tradition was covered in 2021, the abdal culture in 2022, and the legacy of Âşık Veysel in 2023. In 2024, the oral culture environments of Erzurum were examined, and the event was dedicated to the memory of Alev Alatlı. While the ties established with the bardic traditions in the Balkans and Europe were evaluated in 2025, this year’s Modern Times theme brought the accumulation of the past together with the dynamics of the digital age.
This deep-rooted form of expression extending from Central Asia to Europe offers a rich field of study by intertwining poetry, epics, and music. The symposium continues to lay the groundwork for new study areas for researchers in order to carry ancient melodies into the future.
One of the features that distinguishes the Ashik Art Symposium from other academic events is the original music and video works produced along with the theme every year. Reinterpreting ancient melodies with a contemporary audiovisual language, these works demonstrate the power of digital media in transferring the oral tradition to the future, turning the spirit of the event into a permanent archive. This year’s works, prepared with the theme of “Modern Times,” can be accessed from the playlist on Kapadokya University’s YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdydrY7SQIkg
