Worldwide Music Expo has awarded Syrian Cassette Archives with their ‘WOMEX 25 Professional Excellence Award’ for their ‘invaluable and unwavering support for the people, music and culture of Syria.’
The Syrian Cassette Archives is dedicated to preserving, sharing, and researching the sounds and stories from when tapes were the primary medium for recordings in Syria between the 1980s and early 2000s. From live concerts, albums, shaabi folk-pop and the regional dabke - each tape in the archive reflects the multiplicity of lived experiences amongst Syria’s diverse communities. However, since 2011, as war and displacement have disrupted musical traditions and networks, so have changing technologies endangered Syria’s recorded heritage.
A representative of the Cultural Protection Fund team states: 'In response to this urgency and with an unwavering focus on raising awareness, support from the Cultural Protection Fund has seen SCA accelerate its digitisation of tapes, build capacity within local communities, and interviews with collectors, musicians, and producers. This project has been integral for raising awareness of this significant intangible cultural heritage for current and future generations.’
When reflecting on the impact of the award, Mark Gergis from Syrian Cassette Archives said: ‘Syrian Cassette Archives is honoured by this recognition and grateful for the support that makes our preservation work possible. Amid destruction, loss and change, these recordings hold stories that form a vital part of Syria’s musical heritage and informal history that deserve to be heard, studied and carried forward into the future.’
Tune into the Syrian Cassette Archives here.
