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arts & culture
Arts & Culture IMAN has incorporated art and cultural expression as an integral aspect of its programming since the inception of the organization over ten years ago. Celebrating traditional Muslim art forms while actively engaging contemporary expressions of popular culture has lent a dynamic edge to IMAN's art and culture programming that has generated local, national, and international media coverage on Muslims in the arts. Moreover, IMAN's role in such programming has served to empower and connect young Muslims and others with a vibrant means to connect to one another and the larger society.
This component of IMAN's work has also enabled the organization with a dynamic forum to facilitate cross-cultural understanding.
IMAN has mobilized diverse constituents to engage in arts and culture by bringing thousands of people to Marquette Park for the biennial "Takin it to the Streets" festival. In 2007, an unprecedented ten thousand local residents came to the festival's community forums, performances, and speeches by civic leaders and artists who came to Chicago from across the nation. Plans for the seventh biennial festival will begin in early 2008.
Community Café, a bi-monthly spoken word venue for artists, entertainers, and activists, serves to connect our network of artists more regularly with our constituents to provide a positive outlet for artistic expression. Ranging from jazz musicians, poets, singers, and scholars, Community Café artists are among our most significant supporters. IMAN has brought more than 1,800 people to its Community Cafés over the last three years, which is hosted in Chicago's historic Bronzeville neighborhood. IMAN uses Community Cafe to open discussion about our organizing work and connect audiences, including youth, with a broad range of social justice issues. |
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