Contact:
Mona M. Rock
mrock@strathmore.org
(301) 581-5193
(NORTH BETHESDA, MD)- Prior to Ukrainian ethno chaos band DakhaBrakha’s performance on the Music Center Stage, Strathmore will host CHAOS & THE CREATIVE: ARTISTS ON CONFLICT & CRAFT, a conversation exploring the responsibility and burden of art-making in the context of political violence.
The discussion will take place Saturday, August 6 at 6:30 p.m. in the Music Center at Strathmore, Education Room 402.
Panelists will take a deep dive into the tensions between the deeply personal experiences and the shared experience of geo-political conflict; how deciding to explicitly name or not name conflict impacts creative work; balancing entertaining and educating; and writing a love poem or painting a natural landscape while bombs fall.
For our news release about DakhaBrakha’s performance, click here.
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Meet the panelists:
Based in Maryland, Seema Reza is the CEO of Community Building Art Works, a unique arts organization that encourages the use of the arts as a tool for narration, self-care and socialization among a military population struggling with emotional and physical injuries. Reza’s work with veterans is featured in the 2018 HBO documentary “We Are Not Done Yet.”
LEBANESE POET - ZEINA HASHEM BECK
Zeina Hashem Beck is a prize-winning Lebanese poet. Her writing covers a variety of topics: home, estrangement, language, the body, love, motherhood, and faith. Her poetry often exists at the intersection of the personal and the political, the divine and the profane. Educated in Arabic, English, and French, Zeina has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English Literature from the American University of Beirut.
JORDANIAN/ARMENIAN FILMMAKER - SAREEN HAIRABEDIAN
Sareen Hairabedian is an award-winning documentary filmmaker based between the U.S., Armenia and Jordan. She is the founder of HAI Creative, a production company that collaborates with artists and humanitarian organizations across continents. Through her intimate observational shooting style, she captures the untold stories of underrepresented communities.
UGANDAN MUSICIAN - CHINOBAY (NÉE HERBERT KINOBE)
Born and raised in Kampala, Uganda, Chinobay (née Herbert Kinobe) grew up playing
the instruments of local Buganda musicians. The son of two schoolteachers, Chinobay’s passion for arts pedagogy as a channel for social change has led him to follow in his parents’ footsteps as an arts educator. In 2019, Chinobay also founded and serves as Interim Executive
Director of the World Bridge Foundation, a philanthropic endeavor dedicated to improving the livelihoods of vulnerable communities with transparency, respect, empathy, and accountability.
For our news release about DakhaBrakha’s performance, click here.
ABOUT STRATHMORE
Strathmore is a multidimensional creative anchor in the community where everyone can connect with the arts and artists can explore their full potential. It presents hundreds of performing, visual arts and education programs annually for diverse audiences on its Montgomery County, Maryland campus and in the community.
All of Strathmore’s facilities are Global Biorisk Advisory Council® (GBAC) STAR™ accredited.
For further information or tickets, call (301) 581-5100 or visit www.strathmore.org.
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