On Sunday, March 11, 2018 we opened the doors to our culminating showcase highlighting the work created, stories shared, and the relationships forged through our (DIS)PLACED Philadelphia project. The afternoon began with a screening of Dave Tavni’s Speaking Of (Dis)Placement, a short video featuring three of the artists-in-residence in conversation about home and their own work. Nazem El Sayed followed with a reading in Arabic from his new booklet titled I Roll This Darkness Like A Tire, accompanied by a reading in English by Rawad Wehbe.
“Nothing was left of it but the thin blue line I see when I look there, at the divide of earth and sky; a thin blue line, forgotten and dry… like the trace of an old wound.”
The event’s narrator Denise Valentine held the audience’s attention as she introduced each segment, including poet Afaq Mahmoud for a graceful moving performance of her poem On Stargazing from Rock Bottom.
The audience enjoyed light refreshments and sweets during intermission while they browsed the ‘suitcase’ artwork created by five participants during the UnPacking Our Memory workshop facilitated virtually by Buthaynya Ali, with help from Alaa Alhajji, and Nazem El Sayed.
As dusk approached, we moved into the second portion of the event, while seven accomplished musicians took the stage to perform the 50-minute evocative composition by Kinan Abou-afach’s latest work, titled Of Roads and Homes. Valentine’s narrations poignantly interspersed with the music, taking the audience on a journey through voice and sound. The evening ended with a standing ovation, and a heartfelt thank you all the artists and individuals that made the last eighteen months so special. (DIS)PLACED Philadelphia: Expressions of Identity in Transition came to a close, leaving us with full hearts and opened minds.
Photos by Chip Colson
Alf Shukr / A Thousand Thanks to all who joined us for this culminating event and to the artist that brought these stories to life! Some comments we heard from the audience..
“Beautiful music unlike any other in the city. Love the concert venue.”
“I would tell a friend that it was a concert rich in poetry of a penetrating sort and music delicious, distinctive and touching.”
Read WHYY’s article on (DIS)PLACED here!
A special thank you to our funders who made this project possible: The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, William Penn Foundation, and the Samuel Fels Fund.
