Zilan Nergiz Arsu, Bora Nura & Eden Anastasia Emlek

In their first collaborative work Where figs don’t grow, Zilan, Bora and Eden bring the story of three women who each come from a different place and meet at the same time. Their otherness connects them, but their unique backgrounds also set them apart. The performance unfolds the layering of the afterglow of saying goodbye to a home. How do you develop an identity as a woman when the country you come from is itself still fighting for recognition? Through visual art, movement, text and a symbolic red wall, they examine the meaning of home, distance and connection. A vulnerable, visually powerful portrait of how closeness and difference can go hand in hand.

Zilan Nergiz Arsu, Bora Nura and Eden Anastasia Emlek form a young collective of friends who combine their love of theater, visual arts and storytelling into a multidisciplinary performance. Driven by their roots in Kurdish, Kosovar Albanian and Assyrian traditions, the collective draws from a deep reservoir of personal and cultural memories. These layered perspectives are at the heart of their work: stories that resonate and connect.

Zilan Nergiz Arsu (she/her) is a versatile creator with a passion for acting, photography and directing. She found her voice on stage through the new players and exhibited her photographic work in a group exhibition at FoMu. She is currently working on her first documentary about four artists from unrecognized areas who make their existence unmistakable through art.

Bora Nura (she/her) began studying Word in 2012 and was in several theater productions during her high school years. In 2018, she made the transition to film and television, with roles including the short film Tussen ons. After her trajectory with de nieuwe spelers, she returned to theater and performed at the Landjuweel Festival, among others.

Eden Anastasia Emlek (she/her) studied Word at the Conservatory in Mechelen and combines her current university studies with her love of acting. As part of her Communication Studies degree, she interned at theater arsenaal, where she immersed herself in the artistic process of the house.

Credits: Concept and play: Zilan Nergiz Arsu, Bora Nura and Eden Anastasia Emlek // With support from MESTIZO ARTS PLATFORM/WIPCOOP., RIF.