Asia+ Festival 2026: Canvas of Sound

Pakistani-born visual artist Tazeen Qayyum creates live, improvisatory calligraphic drawings against a serene yet luminous soundscape crafted by Syrian-born Aga Khan Master Musicians Feras Charestan and Basel Rajoub. This interdisciplinary performance featuring remarkable visuals gently weaves visual art and
music into a shared act of contemplation.

Watch as graceful strokes of Arabic, Persian and Urdu scripts — three languages united by a single calligraphic tradition — unfurl in response to the music, ancient melodic modes meeting contemporary improvisation. As the musicians move between the shimmering timbres of the qanun, the distinctive colour of the duclar, and the expressivity of soprano saxophone and percussion, Qayyum responds through four
guiding words: amal (hope), karam (kindness), adl (justice) and silm (peace). Each evening’s canvas is created in the moment, never to be repeated, and will be displayed the following day.

Commissioned, conceived and curated by Aga Khan Music Programme, the gallery edition of Canvas of Sound premiered in December 2024 at the National Museum of Qatar in Doha. Its stage edition received an overwhelming response at the 2025 Edinburgh International Festival, and now arrives in Hong Kong as its Asian première,
inviting you to slow down, look closely, and find a measure of inner peace.

CANVAS OF SOUND

Presented by Leisure and Cultural Services Department