Join Mission Belonging and Strathmore for United Against Silence, a Community Showcase.
An evening of poetry & performances by the Mission Belonging Community, hosted by Seema Reza & Ryan Artes. Light refreshments will be served. Due to the sensitivity of some of the content and limited space, this event is only for ages 16 and older.
This event is free and open to all (ages 16+). Donations are accepted and will go towards offsetting travel costs for facilitators and Veteran participants attending A Day of Belonging.
Our performance line-up is to be announced. Watch this space for updates!
Hosts
Seema Reza (she/her) is the author of A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open. Her writing appears widely in national publications and has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She teaches and performs across the country, bringing poetry into classrooms, jails, hospitals, universities, and community spaces.
Ryan Jafar Artes (he/she/they) is an activist, memoirist, and poet whose work reimagines culture through the lens of a transracial, transnational South Asian Indian American adoptee. Their writing appears in Panorama and multiple anthologies, with honors including the Grand Prize for Poetry in upEND Movement’s Dream, Create, Liberate contest. Ryan hosts The Adoptee Open Mic and teaches virtual writing classes that support their ongoing activism and art.
Mission Belonging Marketing & Communications Manager
Rob Haney is an artist, writer, and graphic designer with a passion for making slick-looking and fun images that catch the eye and draw viewers in. Rob worked for over 10 years in retail banking and management in their previous life, before returning to school and earning an Associates of Arts with Honors from Rock Valley College in 2012. An early addict to Twitter, Rob enjoys liking and resharing cool stuff and interacting with people who hold similar interests on the internet. When not online, Rob writes and reads poetry, creates both physical and digital artwork, and watches British mystery shows.
