About this Event
Homeplace: A Site of Resistance is an essay by bell hooks published in her acclaimed book Yearning: Race, Gender, and Cultural Politics [1990]. Hooks described a homeplace as “places where all that truly mattered in life took place—the warmth and comfort of shelter, the feeding of our bodies, the nurturing of our souls. There we learned dignity, integrity of being; learned to have faith... Despite the brutal reality of racial apartheid, of domination, one's homeplace was the one site where one could resist... where we could be affirmed in our minds and hearts... where we could restore to ourselves the dignity denied us."
HOMEPLACE: BMPC2024 Summer Social is a gathering is inspired by all the ways we seek to create and sustain homeplaces in our own lives - through faith, love, and community. Join us for an incredible evening of artistic performances featuring singer-songwriter Drea D'Nur, and dynamic Detroit based musical duo Tazeen and LuFuki, poetry readings, great food and even better company!
This will be an unforgettable affair you won't want to miss!
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Where:
IDA NOYES - CLOISTER CLUB AT UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Address: 1212 E. 59th Street, Chicago, IL 60637
When:
Saturday July 20, 2024
Doors open at 7:00pm; conclude at 10:30pm
Please note:
- Dress: From summer casual to dress to impress in your diaspora drip - it's up to you!
- Ida Noyes Hall is located approximately 5-7 min walk from The Study Hotel and the BMPC2024 Conference Venue - The Forum located at 1227 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637.
- Buffet dinner will be served along with non-alcoholic drinks and dessert.
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*HOMEPLACE is sponsored by the Muslim Wellness Foundation and the 2024 Black Muslim Psychology Conference.
Drea D’Nur is a Mother, Buffalo native music and visual artist, archival researcher and evidence collector, community organizer and activist.
As visual curator and music artist, Drea produced the award-winning “The Spirit of Nina”, encompassing musical theatre, photo and art exhibition, and an award-winning documentary about Nina Simone. As a healing vessel of sound, Drea curated “Healing Songs in Beautiful Spaces”, a spiritually guided sound healing session led by her voice and piano.
Her curated projects include, “Dear Nina: A Sonic Love Letter”—in collaboration with Rootstock Republic (Strings and String Arrangements)—featuring re-orchestrated works from Nina Simone’s songbook of Love songs, Blues and Protest Music for voice and string sextet; and “”—co-executive produced with Rami Nashashibi (IMAN Central, Founding Director)—an album that explores themes of brokenness, repair, and hope “through the turbulent and triumphant expressions of love.”
Drea is currently crafting an interdisciplinary healing art project, “”.
Tazeen and LuFuki are a dynamic musical duo from Detroit that believes music is a sacred art form that can be used for storytelling, healing, solidarity, freedom, and social action. Guitarist, vocalist, and flutist Tazeen blends her soulful voice with afro-indo sounds, while guitarist and composer LuFuki weaves Jazz, Funk, Rock, and Classical sounds through his melodies and solos. Together, they manage creative improvised collective, formed by LuFuki, LuFuki and Divine Providence, and have released five albums. They are currently working on several projects, including XRoads, a traveling exhibit on the history of Black Muslims in Jazz, and Autophysiopyschic Millennium, a creative research-music collective to explore and experiment with the great and vast information that Dr. Yusef Lateef left for future generations.
LuFuki holds an MA from Wayne State University in Near Eastern Studies, specializing in Arabic Language with a concentration in the literary genre of Tasliyah, praise poetry. Tazeen is a tenured professor of Arabic at Henry Ford College and holds a Masters of Arts in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
HOMEPLACE is sponsored by the Muslim Wellness Foundation and the 2024 Black Muslim Psychology Conference (BMPC2024).
The conference theme is Longing For Home - A Place Where A Soul Can Rest inviting us all to a deep and soulful exploration of Home and Hijra - how we understand and navigate concepts of home as a physical space, cultural anchor and an an emotional sanctuary; alongside experiences of home as fleeting, fraught and fragile. A fundamental psychological human need is for safety and belonging - deep connection, acceptance and support. This need is undoubtedly more urgent and necessary for Black Muslims who are under constant threat of white supremacy, violence and systemic discrimination. Yet, history reminds us that we have sought and created deep wells of belonging and freedom - from the resistance of maroonage and efforts towards establishing autonomy and self-determination. Longing for Home also acknowledges feelings of grief and nostalgia associated with the dispossession of Black/African people due to climate crises, gentrification, political instability (often fueled by interests of former colonizers, etc).
Alhamdulillah, we are approaching our 9th year of organizing a one of kind experience centering Black Muslims and healing. We are thrilled to be joined by brilliant keynote speakers: internationally renown British-Somali poet Warsan Shire and influential scholar athlete Husain Abdullah. Through two full days of interactive workshops and discussions, we will build on Muslim Wellness Foundation’s year-long reflection on Home & Hijra: the beautifully complicated tapestry of emotions, experiences and memories connected to the places and people we call HOME. This thoughtful dialogue also challenges us to engage in meaningful conversations about what it means to seek safety, belonging and community through the act of HIJRA or migration. We invite you to join us on this journey of truth, resistance, and commitment to liberation and wellness. We also invite you to join this dialogue with an open heart and mind. May we all learn and grow from the wisdom and experiences shared.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Ida Noyes Hall, 1212 East 59th Street, Chicago, United States
USD 45.00