The traditions of Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) take center stage this weekend in theater, galleries and a music festival. Theater Mu premieres a play following two Muslim women from childhood to adulthood as they navigate faith and queerness. The Selby Avenue JazzFest returns with live music, food trucks and family-friendly art activities. 

In Northfield, St. Olaf College showcases the art and traditions of Himalayan communities, while seven Latine artists at the White Bear Center for the Arts imagine how their Indigenous heritage might have evolved unbroken by colonial histories.

A queer Muslim friendship unfolds in new play

Theater Mu, known for staging Asian American works in all their complexity, will present its first world premiere centered on a Muslim story at Mixed Blood Theatre. “Maybe You Could Love Me” by playwright Samah Meghjee traces a queer friendship between two Muslim women in central Florida, from childhood into adulthood, as they navigate desire, longing and the pressures of a conservative community. 

Across ages 8, 17 and 26, Sajida (played by Sushma Saha) and Noor (Ashembaga Jaafaru) are drawn to each other in ways they cannot fully name. 

“Sajida really wants to be out and have a real relationship and Noor feels very strongly that she cannot,” Meghjee said. “So, their relationship is really fraught, but in so many ways, really loving, because they started as best friends.” 

Meghjee began writing the play in 2022 while living in Budapest, feeling isolated and reflecting on the childhood friendships that shaped her. 

“When I feel alone, I dive into my memories,” she said. “I was always thinking about when we have these very intimate friendships when we’re young and then as we grow older and realize that we’re queer, we look back on those friendships differently.”

Growing up in a conservative Islamic community, she experienced the tension of queer desire within cultural expectations.

“I’m not out to my family so the desire that I had growing up for other women — and then feeling like it was being pushed down or told that it was going to send me to hell — was one very stressful part of the puzzle,” she said. 

After completing the first draft in just a few months, she developed the play through readings and feedback at Theater Mu’s 2024 New Eyes Festival. With its official premiere, she hopes audiences will see themselves reflected in the story while she honors the Muslim upbringing that shaped her.

“The values that my community held, although I didn’t agree with all of them, have informed the person that I am,” she said. “Being Muslim makes me a more generous, loving and community-centered person, but there were parts of it that were difficult.”

Himalayan art and Tibetan life on display

St. Olaf College’s Flaten Art Museum opens “Gateway to Himalayan Art” this Friday, featuring sculptures, scroll paintings and ritual objects from Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese traditions.

An accompanying exhibit, “Tashi Delek, Minnesota!” documents the lives of Tibetan Minnesotans through photos and video. The opening reception will include a blessing ceremony by Buddhist monks and a performance by the Tibetan dance group Gyalshey Rukhag. 

From Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, four monks will create a sand mandala — a meditative, intricate artwork open to the public during regular museum hours — before dispersing it into the Cannon River to symbolize impermanence. 

Jazz, food trucks and art at Selby Avenue

The Selby Avenue JazzFest returns Saturday with more than 15 food trucks, kid-friendly activities, art displays and performances from local and national artists. Grammy-winning pianist Cory Henry, jazz pianist Yuko Mabuchi and Minneapolis-based instrumental group HeyArlo will join ensembles Brio Brass, Walker West Jazz Ensemble and Selby Avenue Brass Band. 

Food options will include African and Jamaican cuisine, catfish, Philly cheesesteaks, eggrolls, macarons, coffee, fruit refreshments and more. Activities for children will include face painting, glitter tattoos, balloon animals, soccer and opportunities to explore musical instruments.

Following the festival, Walker West Music Academy will hold a “Jazz Jam Session” from 8 to 10 p.m. on Saturday. Additional sessions are scheduled every third Thursday of the month from 6 to 8 p.m.

Latine artists reimagine Indigenous traditions

The White Bear Center for the Arts is presenting “Futuros Posibles / Possible Futures,” an exhibit in which Latin artists envision a world where Indigenous languages, traditions and spiritual practices have thrived uninterrupted by colonization. The show explores how these traditions might have interacted with contemporary life, including technology, medicine, sports and language. 

Featured artists include Peruvian designer Jesús Li; queer Colombian American printmaker Savannah Bustillo, whose work “To plant a ristra” honors the tradition of hanging drying red chile peppers for good luck and health; Mexico City designer Ivonne Yáñez, known for her embroidery art; Mexican American visual storyteller Andrés Perez; Tejana artist and co-curator Alondra Garza, whose hot Cheeto paintings are on display; Colombian graphic designer and co-curator María José Castillo; and Argentinian artist Victoria Eidelsztein, who presents wearable art. 

The exhibit will also include two programs this fall: Yáñez will teach the basics of Tenango embroidery rooted in the traditions of Hidalgo, Mexico, on \Oct. 15, and Bustillo will teach teens how to make zines and chapbooks on Nov. 22. 

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