Khabat Abas is a cellist, composer and interdisciplinary artist from Iraqi Kurdistan. Her work explores time, space and memory through music, everyday sounds and noises. She examines the perception of sound, particularly in various geopolitical contexts. Abas uses her instrument beyond traditional norms – improvising, composing, creating videos and sound installations, crafting cellos from diverse materials and incorporating her body into performances. Through this approach, politics and personal expression merge in her work, challenging conventional values and mechanisms of control.
Khabat has performed with ensembles such as the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, the Sulaymaniyah String Orchestra, the Gothenburg Academic Symphony Orchestra and the Non-Ensemble for Experimental Music in Sweden, as well as the London Improvisation Orchestra and Noise Women of One_Orchestra New. She has collaborated with curators, artists and musicians in Iraqi Kurdistan, Sweden, Germany and the UK.
Her electro-acoustic cello piece was performed in Slemani (Iraqi Kurdistan), as part of the Global Listening Biennial. She performed at the Irtijal festival in Beirut (Lebanon), the Space21 festival in Slemani (Iraqi Kurdistan), the Breach festival in Nicosia (Cyprus), the Borderline Festival in Athens (Greece), the Soundout festival in Canberra (Australia), the EAR WE ARE Festival in Switzerland, the Zero Parameter festival in Dai Hall, Huddersfield (UK), as well as in the Abandoned Space project (a collaboration between the Sonorities festival in Belfast and Space21 festival in Kurdistan).
Her composition was performed at the Klangwerkstatt, Festival for New Music in Berlin, Space21 festival in Kurdistan and London New Jazz Festival. She took part in an artist residency at Ame in Huddersfield (UK). As co-founder of Duo Moment, she released two albums with Hardi Kurda: Broken Resonance (Space21 Label) and Illegal Performance (Café Oto, 2021). She has received grants from Salam Culture House in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Swedish Arts Council and the STIM Forward Fund in Sweden.
Khabat Abas will be a 2026 fellow of the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Programme.
As of: January 2026