Flying Carpet Festival

Flying Carpet Festival Award-winning first mobile arts festival for children living in conflict zones. A child of Sahba Aminikia and Sirkhane Social Circus School.

We believe in the power of beauty and arts for change! ❤️

These are easily the most beautiful pictures we’ve ever shared on our page.This advanced group of children—working tirel...
17/08/2026

These are easily the most beautiful pictures we’ve ever shared on our page.

This advanced group of children—working tirelessly to become Circus Heroes over the coming years—is exacty why we exist. This sense of hope, the drive to grow every year, and the journey toward becoming stars of the show: this is what Sirkhane is all about!

In our region, it can be hard to imagine a brighter future, or to believe that life can be free, colorful, and lovely. Surrounded by hostility, our children are passionately reaching for the beauty every single child deserves.
Soon, these advanced students will perform circus acts alongside a musical performance by Sahba Aminikia صهبا امینی کیا right in their own neighborhood. They’re ready to show their entire community their courage, their beauty, and their magic! Stay tuned. ✨

We are beyond thrilled to introduce the brilliant mind who designed our official, gorgeous poster this year—the extraord...
14/08/2026

We are beyond thrilled to introduce the brilliant mind who designed our official, gorgeous poster this year—the extraordinarily talented artist, writer, and theatre-maker from Scotland, Gillian Eilidh O’Mara Gillian Eilidh O’Mara! 🎨✨

📚 An Award-Winning Storyteller
Gillian is the creator of several award-winning picture books and brings a long, inspiring history of crafting magical storytelling experiences for children. Her passion for empowering young minds spans the globe:

Bookmaking & Play: Teaching children how to write, illustrate, and make their very own books. 📖✂️

Community Spaces: Designing cozy, welcoming storytelling theatre spaces in neighborhoods of high need.

Global Impact: Delivering international play and creative programs across India, China, and Southeast Asia. 🌏🎭

🐋 Research, Whales & Co-Creation
Currently, Gillian is channeling her creative energy as a postgraduate researcher at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. There, she is exploring the deep magic of co-creation with children while making an imaginative piece of theatre together about whales! 🌊🐋

Her deep understanding of childhood wonder and visual storytelling shines brightly through this year’s official poster design. We couldn’t have asked for a more enchanting visual gateway into Flying Carpet 2026!

Thank you for bringing our festival to life through your art, Gillian! 🕊️🎨❤️

THE CARPET IS READY TO FLY! ✨We are so thrilled to unveil our official 2026 poster, beautifully created by the incredibl...
12/08/2026

THE CARPET IS READY TO FLY! ✨
We are so thrilled to unveil our official 2026 poster, beautifully created by the incredible award-winning Scottish artist and illustrator, Gillian Eilidh O Mara , alongside our final schedule for this magical journey! 🎨📜

This dream has taken flight thanks to our magnificent “carpet weavers”—the dedicated sponsors, visionaries, and community members who wove every thread of support together to make this vision possible. All festival events are for FREE!

Our Deepest Gratitude to Our Sponsors & Partners:
• Community Arts Network
�• 836M Gallery �
• Aga Khan Music Programme �
• MENA Theatre Makers Alliance
• Canada in Türkiye

With Special Thanks To:
• Julie and Sébastien Lépinard
�• Celine Ricci
• Noushin and Farhad Mohit�
• Richard Simon and Olgica Bakajin�
• Kamran Ghadakchian

A very special thank you to our fiscal sponsor, our friends at Holistic Underground , who made all of your generous donations 100% tax-deductible in the US! 🤲 Hubs and hearts wide open.

And to the hundreds and hundreds of beautiful individuals—including each and every one of you reading this—who supported this dream and brought it to life for 2026.

Check out the poster, swipe to view our final schedule, save the dates, and tag someone you’re bringing along! We cannot wait for this beautiful carpet to fly again! 🧵✨

10/08/2026

Our 3-year-old children’s choir from the İstasyon neighborhood of Mardin has a gorgeous message for you through STING song Fragile: that nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could.🕊️

And yes, we have all studied every word of the song and even provided a translation of the song in Turkish for their families so they know what words their children are singing. We have prepared these songs for two major performances: in Mardin İstasyon in front of their own neighborhood friends and family, and in Midyat in front of a gigantic audience. ♥️

Normally, these preparations start in late June when their school year finishes and continue until the end of August when the Flying Carpet comes knocking on their door. These songs are in English, Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, and Persian in order to remind ourselves, the children, and every member of the audience that beauty exists within every culture and that we should only be observant of beauty in life and nothing else. And that’s how we can carry the burden of life in the future.

Perhaps this final act was meant to clinch a lifetime’s argument
That nothing comes from violence and nothing ever could
For all those born beneath an angry star
Lest we forget how fragile we are.

✨ VOLUNTEER CALL! / GÖNÜLLÜ ÇAĞRISI! ✨[EN]We are looking for enthusiastic local volunteers to join the Flying Carpet fam...
05/08/2026

✨ VOLUNTEER CALL! / GÖNÜLLÜ ÇAĞRISI! ✨

[EN]
We are looking for enthusiastic local volunteers to join the Flying Carpet family! 🎪✈️
If you speak both Turkish and English and would love to work as a translator and artist assistant for our invited international artists, we want to hear from you!
Interested? Please send us a DM right here on Instagram with your contact details and WhatsApp number. We need you! 💛

[TR]
Uçan Halı ailesine katılacak heyecan dolu yerel gönüllüler arıyoruz! 🎪✈️
Orta düzeyde Türkçe ve İngilizce konuşabiliyorsan, davetli sanatçılarımıza çevirmenlik ve asistanlık yaparak bu büyülü festivale katkı sağlamak istersen seni bekliyoruz!
İlgileniyor musun? Lütfen bize hemen Instagram üzerinden DM at ve WhatsApp numaranı bırak. Sana ihtiyacımız var! 💛

GönüllüOl

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Mardin Merkez
Mardin
47400

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