And this is some kind of a goodbye
I am closing out my residency tomorrow and hitting the road back to Brooklyn this week. I have been trying to figure out how to describe how impactful this month has been, not just for the progress of “Blood Memory” but also for myself as an artist.
I have been in an uncomfortable transition back home, having to re-work where funding comes from after the closure of many arts grants, and also fighting the New York real estate market and rising costs of living. To have this month of respite from that struggle has been incredibly nurturing for my psyche. I think it is important to note this because as people living inside of capitalism, we can get very project- and productivity-focused. What are your metrics? How much did you accomplish? And while I have made great progress on the creation of this performance, some of my biggest achievements have been internal, due to the time and space an artist residency can provide.
Prior to arriving in Dearborn, I had joined Y3lda’s We Are the DJ collective of women DJs. We are all at various stages of learning, but it’s an amazing community of mostly Arab female DJs, and bringing that into my time in the Detroit area, with such a rich history of dance music, has been such an exciting undercurrent. In my spare time I have been practicing mixing, and I am now 99% sure there will be a collective dance/participatory moment during this performance. (But I don’t want to spoil that just yet.)
It’s hard for me to completely say goodbye because I do not yet feel complete here. I believe I will be back. So please stay in touch. And send me your favorite Arab dance music.
Here’s a few of my own:
Muslimgauze - All the Stolen Land of Palestine
This Arab and Persian Funk and Discomix by my fave Nooriyah and Yas Meen
xoxo
-s