At MAX Mentors and Silk Road Institute, we believe in using the creative arts to express our community’s narrative and build bridges with other communities. We believe the creative arts help us to not only understand our history and where we come from, but also chart our path for the future and positively change the fabric of our community. We are coming together to highlight the achievements and celebrate the excellence of Muslim artists in Toronto!

Join us on December 6th , 2019 at Tory's LLP in downtown Toronto to hear from three phenomenal artists, enjoy a delicious dinner with a live performance, and network with like-minded professionals!

Choral experience: Hussein Janmohamed is a global music education consultant deeply engaged in the development of organizations around the world to provide quality music education to vulnerable communities. Knowing first hand the power of singing with others to bring people together, Hussein has dedicated his efforts to promoting excellence in choral performance, composition and education, while emphasizing intercultural dialogue through choral music and spiritually inspired music from the Muslim world.

Emcee: Syed Raza - one of Toronto’s top up and coming comedians. His unique observations on every day happenings won him the title of Comedy Brawl Champion in 2019 and landed him the second spot at the coveted Cannabis Cup. As a Houston bred Muslim-Pakistani-Texan-Canadian, he keeps the laughs coming with his comedic take on personal stories and experiences. He also cohosts the Crash & Flow Podcast and regularly performs shows the Comedy Bar, Absolute Comedy, Yuk Yuks and other venues throughout the city. Follow him on Instagram at @syed.raza.gram and @crashandflowpodcast

Panelists:

Timaj Garad - Spoken word artist & arts educator. A Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist, using poetry and theatre to bring stories to life. Her art is auto-biographical, working at the intersections of a black Muslim woman challenging injustice, unearthing truths, and healing. As an award-winning artist and educator, Timaj Garad has graced over 200 stages and facilitated several arts-based workshops. She whole-heartedly believes in the transformative power of the arts and is dedicated to engaging youth in critical arts education initiatives to uplift, inspire, and build ethical communities.

Unaiza Karim - Visual artist and educator. A qualified teacher and award winning artist specialising in the Traditional Visual Arts, with a focus in the art of manuscript illumination. She has taught programmes at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, UK and more recently at the Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art in Toronto, Canada. Unaiza holds a Bachelor's degree in Education with Distinction, as well as a Master's degree from the Prince's School of Traditional Arts, in London. She undertook further traditional training in the art of manuscript illumination in Istanbul, Turkey, and have taught and exhibited internationally and represented the Prince's School of Traditional Arts in the Kingdom of Brunei where she shared my work with the Sultan of Brunei and other dignitaries.Her hand painted ceramics were selected and presented to HRH Queen Elizabeth. Several of her artworks, which include paintings on vellum, wood and glass are in private collections including the collection of HRH Prince Charles.

Huse Madhavji - Actor, Writer, and Producer. He has appeared on ABC's "Combat Hospital", HBO Canada's comedy "Call Me Fitz”, and CTV "Saving Hope.” He is best known for his role as Dr. Shahir Hamza on the medical drama Saving Hope and as the former face of Star! Canada’s Entertainment Channel.He was nominated for a Gemini Award along with the cast of Call Me Fitz for best ensemble performance in a comedy, and appeared in Soulpepper Theatre’s 2019 play, Art.

Dress code: Business Casual.

We are excited to see you there!

Schedule:

6:00 to 6:40 - Registration & Dinner

6:45 to 7:00 - Welcome & Introduction (Silk Road Institute & MAX Mentors, Sponsors remarks)

7:00 to 7:20 - Panel Discussion with Timaj Garad, Unaiza Karim and Huse Madhavji

7:20 to 7:40 - Moderated Q&A with live stream between Montreal and Toronto

7:45 to 8:15 - Participatory Choral Experience with Husein Janmohamad

8:15 to 8:30 - Closing Remarks

8:30-9:30 - Informal Networking