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An Entry to Iranian Music #1: Rhythms in Persian Poetry

An Entry to Iranian Music: Rhythms in Persian Poetry

Tuesday, 03.03.2020

Lecture by Mohsen Namjoo

Mohsen Namjoo, a world-known musician, songwriter and poet will talk about Rhythms in Persian poetry and music, explaining how hundreds of rhythms has derived from ancient Persian poetry and can come in life in Iranian music.

Through an interactive session Mohsen Namjoo will open the window of the endless rhythms in Persian poetry, from 9th century till now and it’s relationship to Iranian music.

This session is open for public.

Born in 1976 in Khorasan province, one of epicenters of poetry and music north east of Iran, Mohsen Namjoo is a Singer Songwriter, Music scholar and Setar (traditional Persian lute) player currently based in New York City. Featured on many world renowned press such as NY Times, The Guardian, BBC, LA times and many more Namjoo is considered a visionary artist who speaks for the youth in Iran. Seamlessly blending the Classical Persian music and scales with electric guitar,Rock and Blues vocal techniques with Persian Avaz (singing). He fuses the ancient with the current. His unique style of singing and effortless mixture of music from east and west has made him an iconic persona in contemporary world music.

Since his arrival to the U.S. in 2009, Namjoo has been touring the world to sold out concerts at prestigious halls including Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco; Conservatorio Sala Verdi, Milan, Italy;  Disney Hall and Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, Barbican Hall, London, Symphony Space NYC, Volkswagen Arena Istanbul and many more. He is one of the few middle eastern artists who has following all across the world from Tehran to New York to Melbourne to Istanbul to Berlin and many more cities.

Mohsen Namjoo has released 11 albums and over 20 singles. His latest album, On the String of the Tear's Bow is released on March 26 2018.


Museum of Impossible Forms is excited to announce An Entry to Iranian Music, an eight-session workshop as part of our Alternate Pedagogy program and to further the curatorial focus of ‘The Atlas of Lost Beliefs (For Insurgents, Citizens and Untitled Bodies)’. M{if} has invited Aman Askarizad to devise a series of lectures, workshops, and performances, jointly conducted by Farshad Sanati, Aman Askarizad, and guest lecturers.

This course will provide nuanced and detailed introductions to several important fundamentals and advanced concepts of Iranian Music.In our workshops with an engaging and interactive method, the participants will obtain a holistic knowledge about the history, characteristics, scales and modes, rhythms and instruments of Iranian music.‘Oriental Music’, ‘Eastern Music’–as terms–often simplify complex genres of music and sound in various regions of the Middle East and Asia. The project tends to dispel simplifications and generalisations by providing in-depth look into Iran’s music, its history, its symbiotic relationships with other forms of music in the region that have been otherwise categorized as ‘Oriental music’.


Museum of Impossible Forms is a cultural space, located in Kontula, Helsinki. It is a contested Space and it represents a contact zone, a space of unlearning, formulating identity constructs, norm-critical consciousness and critical thinking. Impossible Forms are those that erase and facilitate the process of transgressing the boundaries/borders between art, politics, practice, theory, the artist and the spectator. For 2019-2020, Museum of Impossible Forms operates under the curatorial theme of ‘The Atlas of Lost Beliefs (For Insurgents, Citizens and Untitled Bodies)’.

Museum of Impossible Forms is a Safer Space. We follow a  Safer Space policy to create a welcoming, inclusive, awesome environment.

Events at the Museum of Impossible Forms are completely free and accessible without prior booking.

Museum of Impossible Forms is accessible by lift with thresholds up to 4cm on the way. The toilet has no thresholds but is not spacious enough to meet accessibility standards. The nearest accessible toilet is located at Kontula metro station.

For directions, please refer to this Map.