(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - "Caravanserai: A Place Where Cultures Meet", is a program that seeks to promote the use of art and culture to improve Americans' understanding and appreciation of Muslim Societies.
The nationwide program will introduce American audiences in various US cities to some of the most exciting and dynamic artists from the Muslim world, and provide music and film residencies to celebrate global diversity with the arts.
Nearly two years in the making, Caravanserai begins with a pilot program in five US communities comprising performing arts and film programs featuring art and artists from Muslim cultures. The pilot program focuses on Pakistan. Future programming will feature other geographic regions and artistic disciplines and will travel to more US cities.
Caravanserai is funded by a one million dollar grant from the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA) Building Bridges program.
After receiving applications from across the country, Arts Midwest selected the following US art communities to launch the first round of the Caravanserai program:
•The Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire; Littleton, New Hampshire
•Artswego SUNY Oswego; Oswego, New York
•FirstWorks; Providence, Rhode Island
•Monmouth University; West Long Branch, New Jersey
•The Myrna Loy Center; Helena, Montana
Each organization will host three arts experiences in their community, including music residency tours featuring traditional and contemporary Muslim musicians from the focus culture and a film residency, featuring a Muslim filmmaker. Residency activities will include educational workshops, public performances, film screenings, and localized community outreach.
Programming for the first round of Caravanserai begins in October 2011 and runs through April 2012. A second round of programming is planned for other US cities for 2012 - 2013.
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