Past Institutes

2021

For the City Lore 2021 NEH Summer Institute we hosted 30 scholars virtually, joining us from 12 different states. We began with an exploration of City Lore’s Poetic Voices of the Muslim World digital exhibit and resources. We also introduced Summer Scholars to City Lore’s arts education pedagogical tools, such interviewing community guests and creating artwork based on personal narratives. We attended performances by Muslim-identifying artists for whom faith and culture feature in their work and engaged in conversation with them.

Institute Participants on Zoom

The 2021 Institute was held remotely die to the ongoing restrictions of in-person gatherings.

Karl Orozco

Teaching Artist Karl Orozco gives a workshop on "The Art of & Art From Interviewing."

Musician Samer Ali

"Arab Maquem" workshop with Institute faculty member Samer Ali.

Institute Participants on Zoom

The 2021 Institute was held remotely die to the ongoing restrictions of in-person gatherings.

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Co-Coordinator Sahar Muradi at Untermyer Park

Project co-coordinator Sahar Muradi recites a ghazal about gardens by the great Persian poet Hafiz at the Indo-Persian inspired Untermyer Park Gardens (photo by: Amanda Dargan)

Haifa Bint-Kadi at Untermyer Gardens

Artist Haifa Bint-Kadi stands at the gates of the Untermyer Park and Gardens in Yonkers, NY

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Co-Coordinator Sahar Muradi at Untermyer Park

Project co-coordinator Sahar Muradi recites a ghazal about gardens by the great Persian poet Hafiz at the Indo-Persian inspired Untermyer Park Gardens (photo by: Amanda Dargan)

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2018

In 2018, the NEH Summer Institute focused on

City Lore’s 2016 NEH Summer Institute, A Reverence for Words: Understanding Muslim Cultures through the Arts, took place from July 10-23 in New York City. Thirty teacher scholars attended, representing 13 different states, primary and secondary grades, public and private schools, and a variety of subjects, ranging from English to social studies and visual art to music to religion. The institute kicked off with a welcome reception at the City Lore Gallery, providing an opportunity for the scholars to informally meet one another and the guest faculty members.

2016

Institute participants

Institute participants at the Indo-Persian-inspired gardens of Untermyer Park & Conservancy in Yonkers, NY.

Bait Bazi with the Summer Scholars

Summer Scholars try their hand at a game of Bait Bazi, or South Asian poetic dueling

Summer scholars

Summer Scholars conduct collaborative English translations of poems.

Institute participants

Institute participants at the Indo-Persian-inspired gardens of Untermyer Park & Conservancy in Yonkers, NY.

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Sahadi's grocery

“Middle (F)Eastern Brooklyn” – Meeting Charlie Sahadi, owner of Sahadi’s, the venerable Middle Eastern grocery located at 187 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.

Culinary Discovery Walk

“Middle (F)Eastern Brooklyn”—A culinary discovery walk along a key stretch of Atlantic Avenue, center of Arab-American community life for decades, with Mary Ann DiNapoli, genealogist and local historian.

Screening with Kewulay Kamara

Screening: Selections from “In Search of Finah Misa Kule: Recovering a Lost Epic” with Dr. Steve Zeitlin and Sierra Leonean poet-historian Kewulay Kamara

Sahadi's grocery

“Middle (F)Eastern Brooklyn” – Meeting Charlie Sahadi, owner of Sahadi’s, the venerable Middle Eastern grocery located at 187 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.

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City Lore’s inaugural NEH Summer Institute, A Reverence for Words: Understanding Muslim Cultures through Poetry and Song, took place from July 13-27, 2014 in New York City. The institute brought together 29 K-12 educators from around the country with university scholars, translators, filmmakers, and poets to exchange ideas and learn from one another. As evidenced by the feedback from the teachers themselves (see below), they emerged with a deeper understanding of the role of the arts in Muslim cultures and with effective tools to convey that understanding to their students.

Past Institutes

2021

2018

2016

2014

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