Sahba Aminikia is a contemporary music composer who founded and directs the Flying Carpet Festival, a multi-disciplinary traveling arts festival serving Syrian, Turkish and Kurdish children displaced by war and conflict.

Founded in 2018, the Flying Carpet Festival is based in Mardin, in southeastern Turkey, which has absorbed tens of thousands of the more than 3.7 million Syrians who fled to Turkey. Every year, the festival begins with a two-week residency in Mardin whose participants are musicians, dancers, circus artists and storytellers from around the world. The collective then travels and performs in cities and villages across southeastern Turkey. Designed as a collaborative experience shared between artists-in-residence, local artists and child artists, the festival has facilitated 68 live performances, 540 workshops, and 193 artist residencies since its inception.

In the future, Aminikia hopes to bring Flying Carpet to new locations, extending its mission of using art and music as a catalyst for peace and positive change.

Jury citation

"For visionary creativity in founding and guiding the Flying Carpet Festival, which draws on the transformative power of art and music to enrich the lives of children in conflict zones."