Mar 23 2019
Khuraki: Millvale

Khuraki: Millvale

Presented by RealTime Arts at Millvale Moose Lodge

Produced by RealTime Interventions, “Khūrākī” was created by Molly Rice in collaboration with a group of recently-resettled Afghan refugees in Pittsburgh. Commissioned by the Office of Public Art as part of their Artists in Residence program* and supported by Pittsburgh’s refugee resettlement community and many other partners, Khūrākī (meaning “eat” or “meal” in the Afghan language Dari) will take place in four locations across Pittsburgh from late March to early May. The series will celebrate the beauty of Afghan culture, music, and food through "theatrical portraits" of five strong women who will forever be Afghan but have recently become Pittsburghers as well. Divided into 2 parts, Part 1 events (Millvale and East Liberty/Highland Park) will focus on the Afghan New Year celebrations. Part 2 events (Oakland and North Side) will feature celebrations of life changes and Ramadan.

For the events, professional actors chosen by the women themselves will represent each woman, telling their stories while the women gain experience cooking Afghan dishes together for the audience, in service to their central goal: to open the first Afghan food business in Pittsburgh. The cast includes Tressa Glover, Alex Manalo, Krystal Rivera, Kelly Trumbull, and Ashley Loren Williams. Each performance will feature Afghan food prepared by the women, Afghan-inspired music (arranged and performed by graduate music students from Carnegie Mellon University) and moments of immersive cultural experience.

*Office of Public Art residencies are produced with support by the City of Pittsburgh, The Fine Foundation, The Buhl Foundation, The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Opportunity Fund, Pittsburgh Partners for the Arts, and the Our Town program of the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Additional funding support has been provided by a Community Development Block Grant and Pennsylvania Partners in the Arts.

Admission Info

Reserve your seats for Program 1 now! Program 2 seats will be available soon. Get your tickets here: https://www.artful.ly/real-time-interventions. Audiences are limited to 50 per night. Tickets are free but a $20 donation is suggested. Seventy-five percent of the proceeds will go to the women of the Pittsburgh Afghan community to support their efforts to develop a food-based business.

In order to share Afghan culture with people from all over the city, a limited number of tickets will be reserved for residents of each neighborhood in which Khūrākī takes place. To reserve these seats, contact RealTime directly at realtimeinterventions@gmail.com with “Neighborhood Tickets” as the subject line.

Email: realtimeinterventions@gmail.com

Dates & Times

2019/03/23 - 2019/03/23

Additional time info:

The Khuraki series will be presented in two parts, split into four events at four locations.

Times, places and dates:

Program 1:
Saturday, March 23 at New Sun Rising’s Millvale Moose, 112 E Sherman St, Millvale, PA 15209
Saturday, April 6 at the Union Project, 801 N Negley Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15206

Program 2:
Monday, April 22 at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh, 4100 Bigelow Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Monday, May 6 at City of Asylum, 40 W North Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15212

“Program 1: New Year” will be performed at 7 PM on March 23 and April 6, and will center around traditions of the Afghan new year (Nowruz) and the women’s personal stories of home.

“Program 2: Change and Permanence” will be performed at 7 PM on April 22 and May 6, and will focus on the ways Afghans mark life changes (birth, death, coming of age, marriage) as well as Ramadan traditions, again told through the women’s stories.

Location Info

Millvale Moose Lodge

112 East Sherman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15208

Accessibility Info

At RealTime we want our events to be welcoming and accessible to all people. The program 1 events of Khūrākī are wheelchair accessible. Please contact us at realtimeinterventions@gmail.com if you require assistance.