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Reflection Sessions

2nd Tuesday of every month
6-7:30pm Central / 7-8:30pm Eastern

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In September 2020, Art2Action and The Carver Community Cultural Center launched a year-plus series of "Reflection Sessions" leading up to the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and commemorating its aftermath. These live, online events are interactive, art-based dialogue sessions reflecting on our nation, and the world, in the post-9/11 era. Each session will be grounded in a performance excerpt from Eleven Reflections on September, by Arab American theatre artist Andrea Assaf, with special guest speakers and artists, creative prompts, and facilitated dialogue. Our special guests include:

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September 8, 2020: That Day - James Scruggs, Playwright, Performer & Media Artist

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October 13: Aftermath - S.T. Shimi, Playwright & Performance Artist

 

November 10 : Endless War - Garett Reppenhagen, Executive Director of Veterans for Peace

 

December 8: Jasmine Revolution - Karim Hamdy & Laura Rice, Scholars & Translators

 

January 12, 2021: Tahrir - Dalia Basiouny, Playwright, Activist & Theatre-Maker

 

February 9: ALERT! - Assia Boundaoui, Filmmaker & Journalist, and Nimo H. Farah, Poet & Organizer, co-presented by the Arab American National Museum

 

March 9: Judgment - Heather Raffo, Playwright & Actress

 

April 13: This Woman, This Sea - Kholoud Sawaf, Theatre Director

 

May 11: Meet the Artists! - Dialogue with the Eleven Reflections on September ensemble, following our May 1st Digital Premiere with The Carver! Video available through May 11th - watch the show, and join us for a conversation with the cast!

 

June 8: Blood of Spring - Denmo Ibrahim, Theatre-Maker

 

July 13: Quadroon - Rasha Abdulhadi, Poet

 

August 10: Summer Rain - Leila Buck, Playwright & Actress

 

September 14 - The 20th Anniversary - Naomi Shihab Nye, Poet, Songwriter & Novelist

 

October 12 - When are we going to talk about the wa-? - Bina Sharif, Playwright, Performer & Visual Artist

 

November 9 - Meet the Artists! Eleven Reflections: San Antonio - Sneak Preview of the upcoming performance at The Carver, with members of the San Antonio-based ensemble!

 

 

To​ Register for these *FREE* Reflection Sessions, visit our Events page!

 

Eleven Reflections on September is a poetry/spoken word, multimedia performance on Arab American experience, Wars on/of Terror, and “the constant, quiet rain of death amidst beauty” that each autumn brings in a post-9/11 world. The annual witnessing of autumn leaves becomes a metaphor for the fallen. This trans-disciplinary project includes performances with interactive media design and live music; community dialogues; visual arts exhibits; open mics, panels and opportunities for action through partnerships with peace organizations.

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In 2021, we will re-create this project as a large-scale, community-based, devised performance directed, by Andrea Assaf, engaging Middle Eastern/North African (MENA) and Muslim American artists and allies in San Antonio, Texas. Commissioned by The Carver, we hope this version of the project, Eleven Reflections: San Antonio, will become a model for a replicable process. As more cities and communities engage, we hope to launch a rolling series, Eleven Reflections on the Nation, in conjunction with the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

Video

James Scruggs | Reflection Session #1 "That Day"
01:25:03

James Scruggs | Reflection Session #1 "That Day"

Reflection Session #1 "That Day" feat. James Scruggs September 8, 2020 Our first Reflection Session featured the first poem in the Eleven Reflections series, "Down" – a reflection on that day written by Lebanese American theatre artist Andrea Assaf – in conversation with special guest James Scruggs. James is a writer, performer, producer and arts administrator who creates large-scale topical, theatrical, multi-media work. Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
S. T. Shimi | Reflection Session #2 "Aftermath"
01:24:19

S. T. Shimi | Reflection Session #2 "Aftermath"

Reflection Session #2 "Aftermath" feat. S.T. Shimi October 13, 2020 Our second episode featured the second poem in the Eleven Reflections series, "September 17th" by Lebanese American theatre artist Andrea Assaf – in conversation with special guest S.T. Shimi. Writer and Performance Artist S.T. Shimi shared an excerpt of her original work, "On the Island," about the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Garett Reppenhagen | Reflection Session #3 "Endless War"
01:24:48

Garett Reppenhagen | Reflection Session #3 "Endless War"

Reflection Session #3 "Endless War" feat. Garett Reppenhagen November 10, 2020 Our third Reflection Session featured two poems in the Eleven Reflections series--"Dreaming..." and "Autumn Stream" by Lebanese American theatre artist Andrea Assaf, in conversation with special guest Garret Reppenhagen, Iraq War veteran and Executive Director of Veterans for Peace (VFP). Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Assia Boundaoui & Nimo H. Farah | Reflection Session #6 "ALERT!"
01:32:10

Assia Boundaoui & Nimo H. Farah | Reflection Session #6 "ALERT!"

Reflection Session #6 "ALERT!" feat. Assia Boundaoui and Nimo H. Farah February 9, 2021 This episode featured the poem "ALERT!" by Lebanese American poet and theatre artist, Andrea Assaf, and discussion of surveillance and drone technology with special guests, Somali American poet and community organizer, Nimo H. Farah, and Algerian American filmmaker and investigative journalist Assia Boundaoui, director of "The Feeling of Being Watched." Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action, this special episode was co-hosted by the Arab American National Museum. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Heather Raffo | Reflection Session #7 "Judgment"
01:26:59

Heather Raffo | Reflection Session #7 "Judgment"

Reflection Session #7 "Judgment" feat. Heather Raffo March 9, 2021 This episode featured the nationally and internationally acclaimed Iraqi American playwright and actress, Heather Raffo. Creator of award-winning plays such as "9 Parts of Desire" and "Noura" as well as librettist for the first opera about the Iraq war "Fallujah," Heather Raffo's work is a beacon of light in the post-9/11 era that illuminates not only stories of surviving war, but also the resilience and excellence of Arab American theatre in the 21st century. Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Kholoud Sawaf | Reflection Session #8 "This Woman, This Sea"
01:15:58

Kholoud Sawaf | Reflection Session #8 "This Woman, This Sea"

Reflection Session #8 "This Woman, This Sea" feat. Kholoud Sawaf April 13, 2021 Our eighth episode featured Syrian theatre director Kholoud Sawaf and conversations about her work, "10,000 Balconies," as well as the poem titled "This Woman, This Sea" from the #11Reflections series. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Denmo Ibrahim | Reflection Session #10 “Blood of Spring”
01:26:33

Denmo Ibrahim | Reflection Session #10 “Blood of Spring”

Reflection Session #10 “Blood of Spring” feat. Denmo Ibrahim June 8, 2021 This episode featured Egyptian American playwright, actor, author and creator Denmo Ibrahim--the creative director of Storykrapht, a founding artistic director of Mugwumpin, a resident artist of Golden Thread, and a founding member of MENA Theatre Makers Alliance. This episode featured the poem "In the Blood of Spring" from Eleven Reflections on September, and excerpts of Denmo's current work, "Brilliant Mind" Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Leila Buck | Reflection Session #12 "Summer Rain"
01:24:56

Leila Buck | Reflection Session #12 "Summer Rain"

Reflection Session #12 "Summer Rain" feat. Leila Buck August 10, 2021 Our August episode featured Lebanese American playwright and actress Leila Buck, with excerpts of her original works, plus the poem "Summer Rain" from the digital film of Eleven Reflections on September. Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions
Naomi Shihab Nye | Reflection Session #13 "The 20th Anniversary"
01:36:23

Naomi Shihab Nye | Reflection Session #13 "The 20th Anniversary"

Reflection Session #13 "The 20th Anniversary" feat. Naomi Shihab Nye September 14, 2021 Our September episode featured nationally acclaimed, award-winning poet Naomi Shihab Nye, in the wake of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. We reflected on the last two decades, through poetry and dialogue. This session included "September Arabesque" from the digital film of Andrea Assaf's "Eleven Reflections on September," and poetry readings by our esteemed guest. Presented by The Carver Community Cultural Center and Art2Action. https://www.art2action.org/reflection-sessions

Photos

Events

Eleven Reflections on September is an Art2Action production, originally commissioned by Pangea World Theater‘s 2011 Alternate Visions Festival, and supported in part by the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Theater Fellowship program, the National Performance Network (NPN) Performance Residency program, and United States Artists. The 2015 New York premiere was presented by La MaMa ETC, in association with Art2Action and Hi-ARTS, with the generous support of the Princess Grace Foundation-USA Special Projects grant, and the Puffin Foundation. The 2021 Digital Production and the REFLECTION SESSIONS series were commissioned by The Carver Community Cultural Center, as part of the multiyear "11 Reflections: San Antonio" project, a component of ELEVEN REFLECTIONS ON THE NATION, supported in part by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art Building Bridges program, and the Ford Foundation.
 
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