Alive. Here and now: Jazz (and more) in Exile

"We arrived in Zurich with two suitcases. We don't know what the future will bring. But the most important thing is that we are here now, safe. And that we can tell our story through music." On 1 July, 8 pm, Katiko Purtseladze and Pavel Ignatiev will be giving a concert at the Pfauen-Kammer. The two Ukrainian jazz musicians have recently been living with their two sons as guests in a flat of the Schauspielhaus Zurich at the Pfauen. In their home town of Kiev, from where they had to flee at the beginning of April, they regularly perform in concerts, as well as at international jazz and blues festivals in Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Holland and Latvia, among other places. They see their music, which includes not only jazz but also funk, folk and meditative elements, as a means of connecting the most diverse people - also and especially by providing space for shared experiences. Contact with the Schauspielhaus Zurich came about through Artists at Risk, a globally networked human rights organization that supports artists in need. Since March, the Schauspielhaus has been involved in fundraising campaigns for Artists at Risk.