https://www.asadalijafri.com/home daily 1.0 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/1e84c940-91ef-43eb-a69b-0200f2e86f86/Asad_ShangriLa_Web.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.asadalijafri.com/contact daily 0.75 2021-11-05 https://www.asadalijafri.com/bio daily 0.75 2023-01-24 https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects daily 0.75 2023-02-01 https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/mnc monthly 0.5 2022-01-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/4c23e053-a236-445d-a525-d1a0e4f3c484/Asad%2BPillars_IG.png Projects - Muslim Narrative Change Cohort - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/listeningwhilemuslim monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/a94b06b6-525d-44aa-9a8f-2356ce8b9660/lwm_malcommix.png Projects - Listening While Muslim - Malcolm X Mix To celebrate and honor Malcolm X’s Birthday on May 19th, 2021, we decided to make a special live mix using our Listening While Muslim approach. "Malcolm has had a deep impact on my life since I was 10 years old, and making this mix now, 30 years later, had a really deep emotional impact on me. Our elders taught us that those who die or are killed while on the path are not truly dead. Keeping that in mind, we say, long live Malcom….el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz Zindabad!" –DJ Ase Wonder (aka Man-O-Wax) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/c05697e1-e95b-4f74-b214-2e22419ccb61/LWM-Umi%27sArchive4.0.jpg Projects - Listening While Muslim - Umi’s Archive: A Culmination of Love with Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer Curated by Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, Umi’s Archive is truly an act of love. Drawing on the remarkable life of her mother, Amina Amatul Haqq, Dr. Su’ad has given us access to the vibrant, transformational and radical contours of Islam as shaped, nurtured and lived by African-American Muslims and the communities that surrounded them. Listening While Muslim joined Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer to celebrate by listening to the music which was the soundtrack of Umi’s life and the communities to which she dedicated her life. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/shangrila monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/aaomilbaithen monthly 0.5 2023-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2669e406-53fb-46b1-86d7-b544b3199de6/amb_game_night.jpg Projects - Aao Mil Baithen - The first experiment was a Games and Chai night, right on Devon and Talman Avenues. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/8dfbfb27-9ebb-4525-965a-382b5c61133d/amb_open_mic.jpg Projects - Aao Mil Baithen - One week later, we hosted a pop-up Open Mic, people shared poetry, music and songs, from multiple generations, with our youngest participant at 4 years old! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2d2061bb-ed49-4e76-9d3b-8c10c779b3a4/amb_dance_party.jpg Projects - Aao Mil Baithen - The street corner engagement continued with the Devon Dance Party, with people learning both Kathak and Poppin’. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/815b7701-1e8b-4b63-999d-d6d0fdaf9c33/amb_oc%2Bgetdown_2.jpg Projects - Aao Mil Baithen - What was meant to be three experimental events led to a fourth larger one, to really test how much we could do on the same corner, which led to the Get Down on Devon, three featured musical artists and a really special truck! https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/diasporicrhizome monthly 0.5 2021-11-04 https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/wbl monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2eecf64a-9d94-4bbb-b134-f53147ea20f8/Towards+2040.jpeg Projects - Words Beats & Life Towards 2040: Creative Leaders Fellowship As Strategy and Innovation Specialist, I worked with WBL and their global hip hop community to develop a vision for what our world could look like in 2040. A part of that vision was to make sure creative leaders from our communities were able to make the change they envisioned. With that in mind, we developed Towards 2040: Creative Leaders Fellowship. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/5e82b71b-85d4-4e01-8078-5a5afbf07ddd/Pakistan.jpeg Projects - Words Beats & Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/94206134-30f9-4c2c-bc38-ed003cf930f9/KarachiWBL2017.jpeg Projects - Words Beats & Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/b09fd32f-ba49-4556-b9be-f916dfb53313/Lahore-Workshop.jpeg Projects - Words Beats & Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/6589c33d-a432-46cb-b94c-05206efb5bcb/WBLFest2016.jpeg Projects - Words Beats & Life - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/intersections monthly 0.5 2021-11-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/681be74f-2880-47b2-89ce-96be7b6ee10b/ElSeed.jpeg Projects - Intersections https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/21065984-ef4c-4b6f-b63b-e27279912c7b/MobileMosque2.jpeg Projects - Intersections https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/greenbelt monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/3397c1ed-c340-48c7-8569-315a9b9851f9/Amal-2019-Greenbelt.jpeg Projects - Greenbelt - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/mocafest monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/c3b15976-a73c-4403-b134-df8f2f69f5ae/MOCACollage1.jpeg Projects - MOCAfest - Johor Bahru After speaking and performing at the WIEF and Marketplace of Creative Arts in Astana, I produced and curated the next edition of the festival in Johor Bahru, which included 30 international artists, films, workshops and master classes. Featured artists included Haji Noor Deen, Brahim Fribgane, Azren Azimuddin, Alsarah, and Nighat Chaodhry. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/394adaf1-d4df-4276-a54a-4fccc205ad53/thinkTALK1.jpeg Projects - MOCAfest - Young Fellows and ThinkTalk! While living in Malaysia from 2012 - 2013, I also managed the Young Fellows leadership program and developed new programs like ThinkTalk!–a community dialogue session and Translations–new interpretations of Sufi poetry through music. In 2013, I managed the Young Fellows program in South Africa with 20 global participants. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/3d8778c7-a8ad-4692-a71b-b201dd07bc82/MOCA2013_ArtGallery.jpeg Projects - MOCAfest - London and MOCAfellows Later in 2013, I helped evolve Marketplace of Creative Arts into MOCAfest and launched MOCAfellows, a professional development program for emerging artists. Producing both of these in London helped us expand our network and continue to grow. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/e4d74c77-6e1c-4499-a046-7864742f11d4/MOCAfestDJ.jpeg Projects - MOCAfest - Kuala Lumpur and Beyond As my journey took me away from Kuala Lumpur, I continued to return to Malaysia to collaborate with WIEF, MOCAfest and the global network of artists, creatives and changemakers. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/iman monthly 0.5 2021-11-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/03629681-06dd-493b-93a4-f55f0c89de92/CommunityCafeCollage2.jpeg Projects - IMAN - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2050d216-580d-42f9-881f-6fb2a5a6f6a1/ApolloCollage2.jpeg Projects - IMAN - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/07203c8b-806b-40bd-9055-366bb6157b26/CommunityCafeSolo.jpeg Projects - IMAN - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/9b561157-0a14-4b49-8aeb-c6187c4a6ee0/CommunityCafeCollage1.jpeg Projects - IMAN - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/672e6f93-2789-4bee-9be3-3262bf107391/StreetsCollage1.jpeg Projects - IMAN - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/old-town-school-of-folk-music monthly 0.5 2022-03-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/8a837173-7ab6-4f98-9ecc-e3b54b53f6cb/FaizAliFaiz_MillenniumPark.jpg Projects - Old Town School of Folk Music For our first partnership, we presented Qawwal Faiz Ali Faiz for the first time in Chicago (2009). This started a sustained partnership between IMAN and Old Town School of Folk Music and evolved into an intentionality in working with and presenting Muslim artists. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2cdc1e4c-7f10-45f5-b2c2-126047284bd8/IHC_logo.jpeg Projects - Old Town School of Folk Music In 2015, I was asked to produce Iron Heart Chicago, a series of concerts featuring Chicago’s musical heroes at places that brings us together - Chicago’s train stations. We featured 6 artists over a week with 40 concerts on every train line! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/468c364e-9de3-4297-9585-cd39dada6d46/LesFillesDeIllighadad_Web.jpeg Projects - Old Town School of Folk Music - Ojalá Currently, I am managing the Ojalá project, funded by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, presenting local and international musicians through Chicago-based residencies. Over the course of two years, we will produce a total of 14 residencies alongside Chicago partners. https://www.asadalijafri.com/projects/starlight monthly 0.5 2023-02-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/e34e6765-4af3-44e6-88e9-7cdc2b1b9e7a/starlight_listening.jpg Projects - starlight - We took over an empty storefront and transformed it into starlight - a community arts space with an evolving exhibition, reading nook and listening station. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/697052ab-5e0c-4f18-9c1c-65e94421417c/kushala_install_starlight.jpg Projects - starlight - We partnered with the Race, Caste, and Colorism Project at Northwestern University and brought on six resident artists to explore those themes and what they may mean for Black and South Asian solidarity. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/b4094fac-ae5c-40b9-b517-5b3a20d213e7/AlbilaliSoudan_starlight2.jpg Projects - starlight - starlight hosted over 40 programs including workshops, discussions, story circles, concerts, flood relief fundraisers and even a disco dance party. We had more than 1,000 people participate! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/618429133a2d4271ce387781/2b9f5011-0cd6-4f9f-af11-ba034370d11b/calligraphyworkshop.jpg Projects - starlight - starlight was open to the public 5 days a week. Best of all, all the programs, food and drink in the space were absolutely free and open to anyone.