Alhamdu | Muslim Futurism
“ALHAMDU | MUSLIM FUTURISM” is a project created by MIPSTERZ that explores Muslim Futurism—a cultural and artistic aesthetic that learns from frameworks of Afrofuturism and imagines a broader Muslim future free from the oppression of today, set in a utopic tomorrow of our collective creation.
We envision a future where we are all free to create a world that is bold, radical, and uniquely our own. We hope to create conversations centered around the following themes:
Imagination | Identity | Community | Resistance | Liberation
upcoming events:
This project is produced by MIPSTERZ and the Center for Afrofuturist Studies at Public Space One, with support from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the ArtsMidwest GIG Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts, and FilmScene.
The MIPSTERZ "ALHAMDU | MUSLIM FUTURISM" exhibition is made possible by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art's Building Bridges Program and the 847 generous backers that jump started the whole thing.
Want to help? Contact cas@publicspaceone.com
ABOUT MIPSTERZ
MIPSTERZ is a non-traditional arts and culture collective for emerging Muslim creatives. MIPSTERZ enables and amplifies Muslim creative voices by presenting and producing original works for general audiences. MIPSTERZ helps marginalized creators build, collaborate, or experiment with diverse folks who share a common connection to a larger tradition. The collective has featured work in popular media and academia to museums and art spaces to bring multi-dimensional third-culture-inspired voices and stories to the forefront.
Shimul Chowdhury (she/they) is a new media artist, art director of MIPSTERZ, and an Assistant Professor of Immersive Media at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. She studied Art + Technology at the University of Florida and holds an MFA in Digital Arts and New Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Shimul uses textiles, virtual spaces, experimental animation, and more to create participatory experiences that initiate and invite dialogue with the audience. She centers her own lived experiences as a Muslim US American in her work, aiming to create and build community and solidarity with participants and viewers.
Abbas Rattani is an award-winning film director, producer, and process artist at MIPSTERZ. He has over a decade of experience advancing Muslim artistic contributions. His work has been exhibited at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, THE SHED, Carnegie Hall, Tribeca Film Festival, Museum for the City of New York, and Cooper Hewitt. His 2013 "Somewhere in America" film had an international cultural impact, and his recent "ALHAMDU | MUSLIM FUTURISM" film (2022) was selected for multiple festivals and inspired an international conference and exhibit of the same name funded by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art.
Yusuf Siddiquee is a lifelong musician, co-founder of MIPSTERZ, and a leader in arts organizing. In the last decade, he produced and curated dozens of community experiences blending mixed media presenters and interactive performance art for stages large and small. Yusuf’s original music has been featured in award-winning short films shown worldwide. He is a multi-instrumentalist who will play literally anything like an instrument, as long as the tone fits. Yusuf has worked for arts and culture hubs such as the Silent Barn, Brooklyn Academy of Music and StoryCorps. An alumnus of the ZooLabs Music Accelerator, NYFA Emerging Leaders Program, and NEW INC Cultural Incubator, he believes in the power of building cultural legacies through the arts and is dedicated to helping artists thrive.