Not to explain, only to be
Community is a paradox—both a contemplative sanctuary and a battlefield, a place where we find ourselves and can lose ourselves all at once. But what does it mean to collectively inhabit? What happens after space is claimed?
For U? 2025, Aslıhan is stepping forward carrying the echoes of the many communities that have held her. Through her community work, she witnessed the magic of intentional spaces: shared iftars that taste like home, empowerment programs that breathe life into forgotten dreams, reparative readings of the Qur'an that heal wounds too deep for words. But also, the quiet rituals—the hiking trips, the knitting circles, the reading groups—where community becomes less about grand declarations and more about simply being together. For this collaboration, she presents a multi-faceted approach to curation that centers not only those of the community, but also the embodied experiences of community, including the exhibition Taboe Tabee by Bo Diversity and a decolonial dance performance by Fazle Shairmahomed.
Muslims from the LGBTIQ+ community often face discrimination because of their ethnicity, religious beliefs, and their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Their struggle goes beyond an internal dialogue. They are faced with questions about how to fit into their environment, perhaps also struggling with gender identity. People often think in binary terms: you are either queer or you are Muslim. But who are these people who are both queer and Muslim? There is so much to know about their culture, religious beliefs, sexual orientation and/or gender identity. In the exhibition Taboe Tabee - ‘queer Muslims’, six people share their experiences with sexuality and gender as queer Muslims in Dutch society. Taboe Tabee is a project by BO Diversity. The organization aims to challenge taboos and open up dialogue. Together with various creators and experts, BO Diversity dissects social issues by translating stories into images and sound.
Fazle Shairmahomed (he/she/they/them) creates performance rituals and altar installations through dance, plants, film and text. Their work focuses on questions surrounding spiritual processes of decolonization and creolization, creating space for interaction between different cosmologies and the sensorium.
12:00 - 20:00 | Exhibition: BO Diversity
19:00 - 20:00 | Performance: ANALEMMA
Aslıhan is one of the U? 2025 community curators.
