Curating Juri "Samurai": WOMEX 2018

WOMEX Samurai copy.jpg

WOMEX – Worldwide Music Expo – is the most international music meeting in the world and the biggest conference of the global music scene, featuring a trade fair, talks, films and a showcase concert.

Every year, a small group of esteemed members of the global music community, come together to put the WOMEX program together. Five Jury members focus on selecting about 30 Showcase artists (Showcase Samurai), while the other two members collaborate on the Conference Sessions (Conference Samurai).

Over 2,500 professionals (including 260 performing artists) come together every October from 83 countries, making WOMEX not only the number one networking platform for the world music industry, but also the most diverse music meeting worldwide. Its musical spectrum is unparalleled in the international showcase festival scene, ranging from the most traditional to the new global local underground, embracing folk, roots, local and diaspora cultures and urban and electronic sounds from all over the globe as well as all musical juxtapositions of these. Jazz and classical are explicitly welcome!

The five showcase Samurai for 2018 included:

  • Paula Abreu (Brazil/ USA), City Parks Foundation’s SummerStage

  • Chris Eckman (USA/Slovenia), musician, producer, label owner

  • Katch Holmes (UK), Knockengorroch World Ceilidh Festival

  • Antonio Vizcaya Larios (Spain), Producciones Mirmidón

  • Piotr Pucylo (Poland), GLOBALTICA World Cultures Festival

The two conference Samurai for 2018 included:

  • Riitta Huttunen (Finland), educator

  • Sonya Mazumdar (India), EarthSync India, IndiEarth XChange

Paula Abreu