Inspired by the rivers Niger, which begins in Guinea, and the Sutlej which runs through Punjab, Joti and Bongo explore the roots of their cultural art forms and the confluence of their cultures through their lived experiences. Joti and Bongo will share their traditional arts from Punjab, India and Guinea, West Africa, as well as their collaborative projects, including: "Half and Halves," about the Punjabi-Mexican communities of California; "Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink," about Joti's great-grandfather and his role in the Ghadar Party, an anticolonial movement based in San Francisco; and their upcoming project "Raices et Révolution," exploring the artistic and political connections between Guinea and Cuba. This lecture-demonstration mixes performance, video clips and audience interaction to explore how our collaborations as Black and Brown artists deepen solidarity in our communities to collectively fight white supremacy and imagine new worlds.
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Co-Sponsored with UCI Advisory Council on Campus Climate, Culture & Inclusion, Illuminations, Dance, Drama, and Humanities Core