ANIM

The Gould Standard, a podcast featuring stories from artistic heroes, just released their latest interview with Dr. Ahmad Sarmast, founder of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM).

The students of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music are no strangers to adversity.

Last Wednesday, on International Women’s Day, the students and faculty of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music spoke truth to power from their new home in Portugal, sharing a short film that features a choral and orchestral performance of “A Woman’s Battle Cry (Shoulder to Shoulder).”

We’re heartened to share an update from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM) following our coverage of their evacuation last year.

The ANIM campus had long been a target of Taliban terrorism, not only for its musical focus but also for its male/female coeducation and promotion of women. Its visionary founder/leader, Ahmad Sarmast, had once been injured in a terrorist bombing.

In August, the peaceful campus, which included dormitories and a performance space, was taken over almost immediately by the Taliban, who are now using it as an operations center. Since then, we have been holding our collective breath, worrying about the safety of ANIM’s hundreds of students and faculty.

Afghanistan, a land that weaves a vibrant tapestry of cultures and peoples, continues to undergo conflict even after decades of unrest. Its people keenly feel the heartaches of incalculable loss but continue to persevere. Through this war-weary land, a river of cultural, musical, and artistic heritage flows from the civilizations of the Persia-Central Asia region and the Indian subcontinent. That river was forced to become subterranean in the late 20th century, when the country was embroiled in civil war, but it is now rising to the surface once more.