02/01/2012 6-8 p.m. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts (Studio 1)
Join the Caravanserai... Women Changing Pakistan: with author and artist Samina Quraeshi
Join FirstWorks for a FREE community conversation with award-winning Pakistani author and visual artist Samina Quraeshi.
Preview excerpts from her multi-media project “The Other Half of Tomorrow: Women Changing Pakistan”, produced in collaboration with The New England Foundation for the Arts, Asia Society and WGBH Boston. Exploring Pakistan through the real-life, individual experiences of women taking active steps to reshape their world, this ambitious project spans documentary film shorts, interactive online experiences and live presentations.
Talk presented by FirstWorks as part of our year-long Caravanserai project—introducing American audiences to Sufi artists, filmmakers & musicians through a series of intensive community engagement and performance programs. This project is an initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts, administered by Arts Midwest.
This event is supported in part by a grant from the RI Council for the Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Brown University Creative Arts Council.
Her devotion to propagating the importance of arts and cultural exchange in improving the world is visible in everything she does -Nirali Magazine
02/07/2012 7pm Granoff Center for the Creative Arts - Martinos Auditorium
Join the Caravanserai... "Made in Pakistan" Film Screening
Meet talented young actress and filmmaker Ayesha Khan as she showcases her documentary, "Made in Pakistan".
An insider's look into "The Most Dangerous Country in the World" (as labeled by a cover story in Newsweek, Oct. 29, 2007), "Made in Pakistan" follows the lives of four young Pakistani professionals who defy this prevailing stereotype of the country by the very choices they have made in their lives. Shot during Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency in 2007, this real slice of life reveals a country where one definition of an Islamic State no longer holds true.
Screening presented by FirstWorks as part of our year-long Caravanserai project—introducing American audiences to Sufi artists, filmmakers & musicians through a series of intensive community engagement and performance programs. This project is an initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts, administered by Arts Midwest.
This event is supported in part by a grant from the RI Council for the Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Brown University Creative Arts Council.
Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary - South Asian International Film Festival, NY
"Bucks the trend...a fascinating and ultimately successful effort to challenge Western stereotypes" —The Examiner
02/08/2012 4-6 p.m. Granoff Center for the Creative Arts - Martinos Auditorium
Join the Caravanserai... "Bridging Culture Through Film" Panel Discussion
Join FirstWorks' special guest Ayesha Khan, Executive Producer of the award-winning documentary "Made in Pakistan", and standouts of our local film industry for a panel discussion exploring the role of filmmaking in breaking down cultural barriers.
Panelists include:
Sara Archembault, Program Director of the LEF Foundation, R.I. filmmaker Keith Brown, R.I./N.Y. based writer/director Reshad Kulenovic, Dr. Kevin Esch, professor of film studies at URI and Roger Williams University, and Beena Sarwar, artist, journalist and documentary filmmaker.
Session moderated by George Marshall, Executive Director of the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Presented by FirstWorks as part of our year-long Caravanserai project—introducing American audiences to Sufi artists, filmmakers & musicians through a series of intensive community engagement and performance programs. This project is an initiative of the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Arts, administered by Arts Midwest.
This event is supported in part by a grant from the RI Council for the Humanities, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, with additional support from the Brown University Creative Arts Council.
Pictured: Ayesha Khan, Executive Producer of "Made in Pakistan"
03/10/2012 8pm The VETS
Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company Story/Time
FirstWorks presents Tony Award winner Bill T. Jones, who commands center stage for an exhilarating full company performance of 70 stories in 70 minutes. Inspired by John Cage’s groundbreaking 1958 performance “Indeterminancy”, the piece changes each time it is staged, operating on the principles of chance to layer movement, language and music in the moment. Experience an amazing dance-theater ‘first’ by a master storyteller.
*CONTENT ADVISORY: Story/Time contains strong language and mature themes. Recommended for ages 16 and up.
“[Jones’s] gifts: …compelling storytelling and pure-dance interludes of slippery and often deeply romantic choreography.” —The Washington Post
03/11/2012 9:30 a.m. RISD Chace Center Michael P. Metcalf Auditorium
Coffee and Conversation with Bill T. Jones
Join FirstWorks and creative thought leaders at the RISD Museum of Art for an intimate, morning-after chat with Tony Award-winning choreographer and director Bill T. Jones, along with his "Story/Time" creative team.
Be a part of the conversation with a titanic force at the forefront of art and performance!
Presented by FirstWorks, in partnership with the RISD Museum of Art.
Coffee & breakfast served at 9:30 a.m. Conversation begins at 10 a.m.
Event is free for RISD Museum members (proof of membership required at door)
"Jones is larger than life...and then some" -San Francisco Chronicle
03/17/2012 8pm RISD Auditorium - Please note new date & time
Join the Caravanserai... Arif Lohar and Arooj Aftab
Bollywood stardom comes to the FirstWorks stage!
With 150 albums, 50 international tours and 5 million hits on YouTube, Arif Lohar is a superstar in the Punjabi world, but many Americans know him by his music ("Bend It Like Beckham" soundtrack), not by name.
Arif invites the compelling young "Neo-Sufi / Global Soul" vocalist Arooj Aftab to join his band for an unforgettable evening of pop/folk/rock from the other side of the globe.
Experience one of Pakistan's most beloved contemporary folk singers
05/10/2012 7:30pm The VETS
An Evening with Bobby McFerrin
One-man orchestra Bobby McFerrin uses his four-octave range and a vast array of vocal techniques to conjure the unmistakable sound of a trumpet in a jazz standard, the cello in a classical composition and the bubbly melody of a pop song.
Best known for his Grammy Award-winning, a cappella chartbuster "Don’t Worry, Be Happy", McFerrin’s artistry extends far beyond this unforgettable hit. Creating spontaneous, beautiful and timeless music that transcends all borders and embraces all cultures, McFerrin is no mere singer – he is music’s last true Renaissance man.
“McFerrin’s greatest gift to his audience – changing them from spectators into celebrants and
transforming a concert hall into a playground.”
—The Los Angeles Times
02/01/2012 6-8 p.m.
03/10/2012 8pm
03/11/2012 9:30 a.m.
03/17/2012 8pm
05/10/2012 7:30pm
