About Fanka (the arts):
FANKA (the arts) is a new vibrant program at Ka Joog Nonprofit which started March 2012. Ka Joog will partner with The Cedar Cultural Center, and organizations in the Somali community to engage local, national, and international Somali artists to create, teach, present, and document the Somali oral traditions of poetry, storytelling, and music. The vision of this program, titled FANKA (the arts in Somali), is to empower the Somalis living in Minnesota by providing resources, tools, and space to practice, teach, present, and document our traditional oral art forms; to increase intercultural understanding by sharing these art forms with non-Somali communities; and to improve quality of life for Somali youth by engaging them with positive activities that simultaneously connect them with their culture. FANKA consists of three series of eight weekly workshops led by recognized Somali artists in poetry, storytelling, and music, each which will culminate in a public presentation. The project will document these art forms digitally and translate the poems and stories for the non-Somali audience. Ka Joog is local, Somali arts and education organization which aims to motivate and empower Somali youth to attain a higher education, realize their potential, and achieve their dreams through the Somali oral traditions of art. The program also dovetails with the core of The Cedar Cultural Center’s mission to promote intercultural appreciation and understanding.
