Un (Holy) Selves

Who is a “Muslim” woman? Newspapers, magazines, politicians, clergymen, imams, men, women, west/east all paint various pictures. Most of the time those pictures fit into one frame: oppressed, submissive, and asexual—a disembodied wrapped up cloth. This image is not a new conception in today’s war machine; it’s part of a colonial legacy, a long misogynist history. Mainstream framing of “The Muslim Woman” systematically blocks out those multitude of voices emanating from women who happen to be “Muslim” and a lot of Other selves. Join eight community activists, artists, journalists, teachers who struggle, yet dream, in order to forge creative, constructive means of shaping the multiple selves and the various worlds inhabited in this time of war and hunger. With eroding civil liberties, the war in the Middle East, genocide in Sudan and political upheaval the world around, how are (Muslim) women organizing and working towards building peace? Join us for an evening of poetry, performances, and visual art as we discuss how are our art, politics, and faith intersect issues around gender, sexuality race, and class.

Friday, November 9^th, 7:00-9:00 p.m.

Around the Coyote Gallery

1935 1/2 W. North Ave., Chicago

Saturday, November 10, 2:00-6:00 p.m.

Peter Jones Gallery

1806 W Cuyler, 2^nd Floor, Chicago

FEATURING:

Halimah Abdullah, Shadi Eskandani, Amitis Motevalli, sarwat rumi, imi rashid, Nikhil Trivedi, Asma Shikoh, and Tina Zaman.

Curated by

Sarah Husain

Supported by

The Joyce Foundation

For More Information to www.guildcomplex.org

Sarah Husain & Gary Lucas at the Bowery Poetry Club

The Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery, New York, NY 10012
212.614.0505

Monday, July 23 2007
8:00pm - 10:00pm

$12

Noted Pakistani American writer, poet and activist SARAH HUSAIN reads and performs poems, essays, and stories from her book "Voices of Resistance--Muslim Women on War, Faith and Sexuality." Accompanied by renowned guitarist GARY LUCAS on acoustic guitar

An evening sure to provoke, inspire, and challenge mainstream stereotypes of 'the Muslim woman' as an oppressed, helpless female who needs to be 'saved' by the western world.

Gary Lucas is an incredibly talented and versatile NYC-based guitarist / singer / songwriter / composer / producer who has earned a worldwide following with over a dozen internationally acclaimed solo albums released to date. He tours relentlessly all over the world, and has performed in 35 countries. Gary is known for his brilliant solo guitar work ("Legendary Left-field Guitarist" --The Guardian), his long-standing band Gods and Monsters ("An underground rock fan's dream-team" --The New Yorker), based around Lucas' guitar and Grammy-nominated songwriting, and his work with many other outstanding musicians, including contributing hit songs and guitar to Jeff Buckley's Grace album (voted the #1 Modern Classic Album in MOJO recently) and Joan Osborne's triple platinum debut album. www.garylucas.com

Sarah Husain QMA- Poets in the Galleries

Saturday August 18th, 2007

5:30 - 8:30 pm

Cocktail Hour + Poets in the Galleries: Writers Respond to Generation 1.5

Poets in the Galleries: Writers Respond to Generation 1.5 is a series of six events that utilizes the galleries as invigorating sites of exploration, investigation and interactive readings and discussions. Lively presentations and provocative intellectual and artistic exchanges will allow audiences new ways of accessing the resources of the museum, while simultaneously presenting visitors with various inroads into the exhibitions' offerings. The Generation 1.5 exhibition lends itself especially well to the pilot version of Poets in the Galleries. This exhibit allows a wonderful springboard for the exchanges of ideas related to immigrant experiences, with the participation of distinguished voices on the national and international literary scene.

The writers involved are not necessarily 1.5'ers themselves, but have all experienced immigration in various ways, and beyond being accomplished authors are also engaging speakers. Each participating poet has been asked not only to read his or her own work, but to actively engage with art works from the exhibit in which ever way they choose as well as to engage with the attendees to create a truly interactive experience.