Collaborative Performance Highlights Bengali Music And Culture In Detroit

The music of Bangladesh and contemporary shadow puppets come together to create a new view into Bangladeshi culture in the upcoming performance of O Motherland! Shadow Narratives of Bangladesh at Carrie Morris Arts Produtions (CMAP) later this month.

Akram Hossain, founder of the Bangla School of Music and the primary collaborator on the project, established the school in 1996 to promote Bengali culture through music lessons, language classes, and performances. The O Motherland! collaboration furthers the school's 12-year mission of increasing the appreciation of Bengali music in two free performances on Friday + Saturday, October 26 + 27, 8:00PM at 2221 Carpenter St, Detroit. Based on and set to songs performed by Hossain and the Bangla School of Music, this shadow puppet play showcases the past and present of Bengali culture for all to enjoy.

On this collaborative performance, Executive Director of CMAP Carrie Morris had this to share:

"While the show will be performed in both English and Bangla, this performance will transcend language, making these historic, folkloric, and cultural narratives understood by audiences no matter what their first language is."

O Motherland! is a journey into the heart of Bangladesh, using shadow puppets, music, and poetry as a vehicle to increase knowledge and appreciation of Bangla history and culture at a time when immigration policies and the lives of foreign-born citizens are under attack.

Funded in part by a 2018 Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant, attendees will be immersed in a world of the flora, fauna, landscapes, and iconography of both Detroit and Bangladesh within the interior of the Puppet House at CMAP. These two performances are open to all and completely free.