Category: projects

Race, Racism, and Relationship: Microaggressions and the Beloved Community

I will be co-teaching a workshop on ‘Race, Racism, and Relationship: Microaggressions and the Beloved Community’ tomorrow at 6pm at First Unitarian Church of Rochester. Will share some clips from The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America, talk about Claudia Rankine’s work, discuss the inclusion of dance in the film, and the connection b/w oppression and breathing, and much more. Hope you can make it!

this heirloom at city hall

#installing#work from my #art series ‘this #heirloom’ at #cityhall‘s #linkgallery today
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this #exhibition ‘embracing our #heritage’ celebrates APAA’s 10th #anniversary and will be on display may 7 to june 17
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along with my work, art by #japanese american artist rie maywar and #korean american artist jina park will also be on display
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opening reception on may 17 from 5:30 to 7:30pm

Editing the first dance

Emotional day today. I finally downloaded Final Cut Pro X (it looks nothing like Final Cut Pro 7) and although, after editing 3 films, cutting footage is as natural to me as brushing my teeth, it’s been hard not to know where to find the blade or how to add a cross dissolve. Oy vey. Lots of googling of course, and wonderful online discussion groups where generous people share their tricks and fixes.

Our last shoot was a ballet sequence choreographed by Mariko, performed by María, and filmed by Rajesh. I started with that footage. It’s filled with glorious light, spilling out of tall windows with incredible abandon, and Maria’s exquisite arabesques and pirouettes. Mariko chose Handel’s ‘Ombra mai fu’ as a base for the dance, so I cut the footage to it. Shot with such poetry by Rajesh, as he follows Maria round and round in circles, sometimes losing her briefly until she settles on the edge of the frame, other times following her graceful arms only to rest on her extended fingers. I teared up when I looked at the first cut. So many people have to come together just so to make this magic happen. Nothing gives me more pleasure than this work.

Photograph by Rajesh, for The Injured Body: A Film about Racism in America

mimouna at my house

with the terrible news of another attack on a synagogue and the news a couple of days ago that an army vet deliberately drove into a south asian family thinking they were muslim, it can be hard to breathe sometimes.

this evening we celebrated mimouna at my house, a north african tradition according to which muslim neighbors bring bread and desserts to their jewish friends and celebrate the end of passover together. so we american jews and muslims decided to get together. we shared poems and ideas. we ate a lot of bread and sweets. we should have had moroccan mint tea but had chai instead – a pakistani addition 🙂

solidarity is the only place we can ever feel safe.

Reclaiming the Narrative: Analyzing the White Supremacist Roots of Anti-Muslim Violence

an incisive and clear-cut analysis of white supremacy and anti-muslim racism by two young women from the islamic center of rochester, Halima Aweis and Hibah Arshad. the interview by Darien Lamen was part of Reclaiming the Narrative‘s longer news program on april 5, 2019. this is the interview on its own, archived on sound cloud – an important reference point at a specific political moment in our history. pls listen and share.

April 5, 2019: Analyzing the White Supremacist Roots of Anti-Muslim Violence

this is such an excellent discussion about white supremacy and anti-muslim racism (starts at 6:30). so proud of Halima Aweis, Hibah Arshad and Navaira Aslam for understanding history, systems, and the deep connections b/w various forms of violence all around the globe. thank u Darien Lamen for producing such an informative news program, where there is an opportunity for uninterrupted, complex analysis. if u want to be in solidarity with the muslim community, pls listen here.

Interview on Reclaiming the Narrative

Analyzing white supremacy in light of the terrorist attacks on two mosques in New Zealand, with the absolutely brilliant Halima Aweis and Hibah Arshad, for Darien Lamen’s excellent news program Reclaiming the Narrative, RCTV, Rochester’s Community Media Center. Thank you Navaira Aslam for your Facebook post, which set these important conversations in motion. The podcast should be online this Friday.