Stories of Health and Community
June 22 2-10pm

Using theatre, film and storytelling devices the day seeks to connect community members, health care providers, and artists to make impactful connections and better understandings of healthcare and its barriers.

Feature Keynote Speakers include Zaynab Abdi of Green Card Voices and Osman Ali of Somali Museum.

The day will include storytelling workshops, learning around community health needs, and will feature trained storytellers.  Additional activities will include music, traditional dance, face painting, kids activities, food and tea!

The entire day is FREE and open to the public.

There will be prizes and giveaways throughout the day.

2pm – Storytelling Training Workshop

Learn to tell stories and craft compelling performances in a storytelling workshop taught by an award winning local storyteller Christopher Luehr.

2pm – Healing Powers of Creative Placemaking: Provider Workshop

Project 154 Coordinator Abdurrahman Mahmud of Mixed Blood will discuss healthcare themes that emerged from Cedar-Riverside resident, share personal stories, and facilitate dialogue with providers around their personal experiences working with residents.

3pm – Story Stitch with Green Card Voices

Telling Stories. Opening Minds. Becoming Neighbors.  Everyone has a story to share. This program is designed as a way to facilitate the exchange of stories between immigrants and refugees, and their new neighbors.

3pm – Community Dialogue with Abdurrahman Mahmud

Project 154 Coordinator Abdurrahman Mahmud will host a community dialogue in which Cedar Riverside residents will discuss the outcomes of Project 154 and discuss next steps in advocating for the community.

4pm-  The Healing Powers of Personal Narrative with Zaynab Abdi

Zaynab Abdi, currently a student at St. Catherine University, is an inspirational speaker on topics of diversity and inclusion, youth empowerment, immigration, education, and women in sports.  She shares her personal journey and leads a discussion around how the community can work together to inspire health.

5pm- Traditional Dance performance outside

6pm – Break for meal and Asr prayer

7pm – The Historical significance of Storytelling in Somali People with Osman Ali

The Somali Museum of Minnesota is the only museum in North America devoted to preserving Somali traditional art and culture.  The Museum targets Somali-American youth who have grown up without connection to their culture, and non-Somali Minnesotans encountering Somali culture for the first time. The presentation will be about traditional Somali art, the history nomadic culture and the different styles, and the role of traditional arts in the diaspora context.

8:00pm – Mixed Blood storyteller and comedic performance

The evening will end with stories told by individuals who Mixed Blood has worked with to train as new storytellers.  They will share their personal stories related to health and community.

We will also welcome special guests Council Representative Abdi Warsame and State Representative Mohamed Noor.

The final performance will be a comedic show by Mohamoud Wiilwaal, Sahro Dhule and Abdihakin Br in Somali.

Zaynab Abdi

Zaynab Abdi, currently a student at St. Catherine University, is an inspirational speaker on topics of diversity and inclusion, youth empowerment, immigration, education, and women in sports. Her thoughts on leadership have appeared in leading media outlets such as Eyewitness News, Radio KMOJ, and KFAI. Her personal story was featured in the book “Green Card Youth Voices: Immigration Stories from a Minneapolis High School” published in May, 2016, of which she is a co-author.

One of Zaynab’s many passions in life is to help build more inclusive communities for all.  She is actively working towards this goal by speaking across Minnesota, and the U.S.

Osman Ali

Osman Ali is a lifelong student of Somali traditional society and culture and has been a collector of traditional art for over 20 years. Mr. Ali founded the Somali Museum of Minnesota, and owns most of the artifacts in the Museum’s permanent collection. Born in Somalia and raised in Yemen, Mr. Ali developed a career working for the United Arab Emirates for 20 years in the government as geophysics technician for 8 years as well as spending 12 years as a Senior well technician and sight supervisor in the hydrology department. In Minnesota, Osman Ali is recognized as an entrepreneur and community leader who has built a succession of innovative businesses, including the community’s first Somali food delivery service, first Somali driving school, and the Somali Museum of Minnesota. Awards and recognition include the Lake Street Council’s Community Impact Award, Ka Joog Somali Community Hero Award, Somali Hero Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, and most recently the International Somali Awards’ Innovation Award. Mr. Ali serves on the Board of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. He is currently working on two books, a comprehensive guide to Somali traditional artifacts and a children’s picture book that highlights and revives dying Somali vocabulary.

Mohamoud Wiilwaal, Sahro Dhule, and Abdihakin Br

The final performance will be a comedic show by Mohamoud Wiilwaal, Sahro Dhule and Abdihakin Br in Somali.

We are pleased to welcome special guests Council Representative Abdi Warsame and State Representative Mohamed Noor who will make special remarks during the evening portion of the day.