Solara Presents: How Does Light Guide Us?

Solara: Intercultural & Creative Music Fellowship 2024

Experience the culmination of the 2024 Intercultural and Creative Music Fellowship, a 14-week multidisciplinary project, with a concert featuring original songs inspired by light and a documentary capturing the creative journey.

Now in its fourth year, the Intercultural and Creative Music Fellowship is a project aimed at fostering a greater intercultural understanding of Muslim heritage in music and film while also helping emerging artists achieve greater professional experience. With an emphasis on community and collaboration, Humber Polytechnic and the Aga Khan Museum share a belief that interconnected communities of artists and performers can create substantial system-wide change and break down social barriers.

In the summer of 2024, eight Humber Polytechnic Students came together under the guidance of acclaimed Iranian-Canadian Setar player Kiya Tabassian to form the band Solara. Inspired by the architecture of the Aga Khan Museum, and the “Light: Visionary Perspectives” exhibition, Solara composed a suite of six songs, each of which presents a unique answer to the question, “How does light guide us?”

“From Dawn to Dusk” is a short documentary that explores the varied perspectives of these artists before and after working on their project. Each artist was interviewed at the beginning of the project, and after the Montreal Residency, to document their thoughts and reflect on their experience. The first part of the documentary, which represents hope and beginnings, symbolizes “dawn”, and the second half represents the transition from one phase to another, symbolizing “dusk.”

A special thanks to the Centre des Musiciens du Monde for hosting the ICMF 2024 Residency.

Presented with support from Bashir and Farida Dhanani and Family.

The Museum’s Performing Arts programming is generously supported by the Nanji Family Foundation.

Solara will showcase a free concert as part of Enlighten X Global Toronto Music Festival.

Where: Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Drive

When: September 29, 6 pm

Venue: Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium

This festival marks the Aga Khan Museum’s 10th anniversary with a weekend of festivities presented in partnership with Small World Music. From free performances by musicians showcasing global traditions to delicious food and special cake cutting ceremony, there is something for everyone.

Find out more about the festival here.