Asia Society, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and New York University Center for Dialogues Announce the Launch of Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas June 5–14, 2009
NEW YORK-(Business Wire)-January 7, 2009 - In celebration of the extraordinary range of artistic expression in the Muslim world, Asia Society, BAM, and New York University Center for Dialogues announce the launch of Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas, an unprecedented ten-day festival and conference taking place June 5–14 throughout New York City. More than 100 Muslim artists and speakers from as far away as Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and as near as Brooklyn, will gather for performances, films, exhibitions, talks, and other events, ranging from the traditional (calligraphy, storytelling, and Sufi chanting) to the contemporary (video installations and Arabic hip-hop). Festival presentations and programs aim to present multiple perspectives from the Muslim world. World renowned singer Youssou N’Dour opens the festival at BAM’s Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Avenue) on Friday, June 5 at 8pm. Tickets for Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas at BAM go on sale on January 21, 2009 at www.BAM.org or 718.636.4100. Tickets for Muslim Voices: Arts and Ideas at Asia Society go on sale on February 15, 2009 at http://tickets.asiasociety.org or (212) 517-ASIA.
In addition to the mainstage offerings and complementary education and humanities events from Asia Society, BAM, and NYU Center for Dialogues, there will be Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas festival programs taking place at additional locations, including Austrian Cultural Forum New York, Brooklyn Museum, MoCADA (Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts), Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The New York Public Library.
Please check muslimvoicesfestival.org on February 3, 2009 for the full list of events associated with the festival.
The following programming will be the centerpiece of Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas:
| Youssou N’Dour |
| Friday, June 5 at 8pm |
| BAM Howard Gilman Opera House |
| BAM presents globally renowned Senegalese musician and humanitarian Youssou N’Dour in a one-night-only concert on the BAM Opera House stage. |
| Arts and Ideas |
| Friday, June 5–Sunday, June 7 |
| Presented by NYU Center for Dialogues at The Brooklyn Marriott |
| NYU Center for Dialogues presents Bridging the Divide Between the U.S. and the Muslim World Through Arts and Ideas: Possibilities and Limitations, an academic, cultural, and policy conference held in conjunction with Muslim Voices: Arts & Ideas. This conference is by invitation only. The opening session, June 6 at 9am will be open to the public via registration on the NYU Center for Dialogues website or email to info@centerfordialogues.org. |
| Sufi Music Ensembles |
| Saturday, June 6 at 8pm |
| BAM Harvey Theater |
| Featuring Aissawa Ensemble from Fes, Morocco and the Al Taybah Ensemble from Tunisia. |
| Dastangoi: The Adventures of Amir Hamza |
| Sunday, June 7 & 8 at 7:30pm |
| Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium |
| One of India’s most acclaimed film stars Naseeruddin Shah, joined by fellow actors Daanish Hussain and Mahmood Farooqi, recount the adventures of the Prophet Muhammed’s uncle Amir Hamza in an artfully dramatized oral narrative. |
| Richard III: An Arab Tragedy |
| Tuesday, June 9—Friday, June 12 |
| BAM Harvey Theater |
| Developed as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival, Richard III: An Arab Tragedy places the Shakespeare tragedy within a contemporary context, while examining the relationship between the Arab world and the West. |
| Sight Unseen: Video from Afghanistan and Iran |
| Tuesday, June 9—Sunday, September 13 |
| Asia Society Museum |
| Sight Unseen showcases the video works of Afghan artist Rahraw Omarzad and Iranian artist Seifollah Samadian, representing the first time either artist has been presented in a U.S. museum. |
| The Divas of the Maqam |
| Thursday, June 11 & Friday, June 12 at 7:30pm |
| Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium |
| Vocalists Nassima Chabane of Algeria and Kamilya Jubran of Palestine, accompanied by a pan-Arab ensemble, will present the beauty and power of the Maqam. |
| Parissa: Classical Persian Music |
| Thursday, June 11 & Friday, June 12 at 9:30pm |
| Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium |
| Renowned classical Indian singer Parissa, accompanied by instrumentalists on Tar (traditional plucked lute) and Daf (frame drum), will render the deeply soulful texts of the great poets Rumi and Hafez. |
| Qawwali Gospel Creation |
| Saturday, June 13 at 8:00pm |
| BAM Harvey Theater |
| An evening of musical exchange between Christian/African-American gospel and Qawwali, the 700-year old tradition of Sufi praise music. The program will feature New Orleans gospel singer Craig Adams and the Voices of New Orleans, and Pakistani singer Faiz Ali Faiz and his Qawwali Ensemble. |
| Sardono Dance Theater of Indonesia |
| Saturday, June 13 & Sunday, June 14 at 7:30pm |
| Asia Society Lila Acheson Wallace Auditorium |
| Created by director/choreographer Sardono Kusumo, Sardono Dance Theater of Indonesia performs Diponegoro, a dance theater work depicting the 19th century Javanese prince and Muslim mystic who led a rebellion against the Dutch in the 1840s. |
Please visit muslimvoicesfestival.org on February 3, 2009 for the full list of events.
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