Ka Joog
Ka Joog and Afro American Development Association (AADA) will partner to create a platform for Somali American youth to learn traditional Somali artistic mediums and present their learning through public presentations that will ignite community conversations. Art clubs and public forums will be implemented in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Clay counties and will promote inter-generational dialogue on taboo topics within the Somali American and cross-cultural acceptance with non-Somali audiences.
|
Leyla Suleiman (Minneapolis, MN) Leyla is a first year educator, author in the Crossroads: Somali Youth Anthology, and was a panelist for the Community Partner Fund and is also serving in the immigrant cultural heritage panel. She is Somali. |
|
Hibaq Mohamed (Minneapolis, MN) – Hibaq is an MHC Increase Engagement facilitator, author in the Crossroads: Somali Youth Anthology, and is also serving in the immigrant cultural heritage panel. She is Somali. |
|
Nasra Farah (St. Cloud, MN) – Nasrah is a board member and featured speaker through the activist/advocacy organization #unitecloud. She is Somali. |
|
Dr. Cawo Abdi (Minneapolis MN) Dr. Abdi is a professor of Sociology at the U of M. She has worked with MHC previously through its Lunch and Learn Series. She is Somali. |
Laura Benson
Minnesota Humanities Center
laura@mnhum.org
651-772-4244
$850,000 the first year and $850,000 the second year are for a competitive grants program to provide grants to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of Minnesota.
(2) Of this amount, $250,000 the first year is for a grant to one or more community organizations that provide arts and cultural heritage programming celebrating Somali heritage.
Ka Joog and AADA propose to measure qualitative and quantitative outcomes for each goal as follows:
Goal 1: Somali American youth build their knowledge of traditional Somali art forms and increase their capacity to use Somali arts as a communication tool
Outcomes of Goal 1:
- 20-25 Somali American youth participate in monthly art clubs
- 100 Somali American youth use Somali art to present their ideas in a public forum
- 90% or more of youth participants self-report an increase in knowledge of Somali art after participating in workshops
To assess whether these activities achieve their intended impact, AADA and Ka Joog will use post-art club surveys distributed to participating students and artists to help us determine how we can continuously improve our approach and instruction quality. Learning from art clubs will culminate in public presentations, implemented quarterly. At the conclusion of each presentation, we will request youth and participating artists to self-assess what they learned, how they have grown, and what support they would like Ka Joog and AADA to offer to deepen their learning and enhance their practical application of their new artistic skills.
Goal 2: Public presentations change community perceptions and increase dialogue within the Somali American community in the Twin Cities and Moorhead.
Outcomes of Goal 2:
- At least 130 individuals attend public presentations (this indicator is the same for Goal 3)
- 70% of Somali American attendees indicate they have new knowledge or understanding after participating in the presentation
To measure these outcomes, Ka Joog and AADA will distribute post-presentation surveys to each attendee and we will collect their feedback when guests exit the venue. After each presentation, our team will also facilitate conversations to allow attendees to share their impressions verbally. We will document this feedback as qualitative information to complement data collected through surveys.
Goal 3: Public presentations change intercommunity perceptions and increase dialogue between the Somali and non-Somali communities in the Twin Cities and Moorhead.
Outcomes of Goal 3:
- At least 130 individuals attend public presentations
- 30% of public presentation attendees will identify as non-Somali
- At least 50% of non-Somali attendees report improved intercultural appreciation after participating in a public presentation
Like Goal 2, Ka Joog and AADA will use post-presentation surveys to assess the outcomes of our presentations. We will measure positive changes in perceptions of the Somali American community by non-Somali attendees to determine if our program has positively impacted intercultural perceptions.
To further the impacts of goals 2 and 3, Ka Joog and AADA intend to document the public presentations and share them widely through our websites, YouTube channels, and social media platforms. When we complete our final project report, we will include any qualitative feedback collected through these channels and describe how this input influenced our work.
In progress