Arts & Culture: Moving The Tradition Forward
Last month, IMAN’s Arts and Culture Director, Asad Jafri, moved on to do some exciting work with the World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) in Malaysia. For five years, Asad helped advance IMAN’s Arts and Culture programming to national and international recognition and furthered IMAN’s long standing commitment to the organic incorporation of the arts into our work. As we get ready for our next Community Café on October 20th, and put the plan in motion for our 15th Anniversary Takin’ It to The Streets celebration, planned for June 15th, 2013, we are eager to see the next phase of our arts and culture programming unfold.
While IMAN continues its national and competitive search for our next Arts and Culture Director, Janice Bond is serving as IMAN interim Arts and Culture Manager. Applications can be submitted here.
That programming remains grounded in IMAN’s overarching commitment to work in the inner-city, and with marginalized and disconnected communities. Forging spaces that foster artistic excellence and allowing the arts to be a source of hope, inspiration and connectivity, while working for real solutions in the urban space here and across the planet, also remains part of IMAN’s global approach to the arts and community activism.
At a time when communities like the one we work in remain profoundly challenged by the scourge of violence, despair and a range of ongoing issues, and the world continues to be confronted with the presentation of “Muslim Rage” as its introduction to the Muslim community IMAN realizes that this work remains profoundly important. The need for the American Muslim community to be ever committed to developing models of hope and inspiration guided by our tradition is one that resonates across the globe. Towards that end, IMAN is committed to the role of arts and creative expression as an integral part of our work, and we ask the Most High to envelop our work with Divine Mercy and Light as we move forward.
Stay tuned for more information about Ojalá: Connecting Voices & Visions, the next Community Café on Saturday October 20th in Little Village, our future calendar of events and more on our rollout for Takin It to The Streets June 15th 2013.