More Gardens! Fund
79 Clinton Street, Suite 17
New York, NY, 10002
(917) 518-9987
Dearest friend,
Your support donation of $5,000 for each project or a total of $25,000 will manifest the below projects:
$5,000 - American Indian Community House Land Acknowledgment
$5,000 - Community Theater Performance with Kayhan Irani
$5,000 - The Tree of Life and Simorgh Altar by Aresh Javadi
$5,000 - Fire Performance and production by Joules Magus
$5,000 - Music Performance by Amir Vahab Ensemble
Please contact Executive Director Aresh Javadi at
Email: aresh@moregardens.org
Phone: 917-518-998
Check address:
More Gardens Fund
79 Clinton Street, Suite 17
New York, NY, 10002
Art and Cultural Initiative: Chaharshanbe Suri Festival of Fire
More Gardens! has celebrated the onset of Spring Equinox at community gardens of NYC since 1998 as we defended the wholesale destruction of the community gardens during the Guliani administration. Over the past two decades of our Persian fire festival at NYC community gardens, we’ve brought hundreds of Iranians and members of the Persian diaspora joined by community gardeners and the public. This traditional Persian Spring celebration highlights positive and inclusive Middle Eastern American culture with traditional music, food, and dance, bringing New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds together in a spirit of cultural celebration. This is a beautiful opportunity for the Middle Eastern American community to celebrate and welcome all others into the joys of Persian culture. The festival promotes unity through shared celebrations as we welcome spring and the awakening of nature.
Our last Persian Fire Festival in person in 2018 was done with the full participation of the NY Fire Dept., garnering attention from the media. Your gift in 2023 would be bringing a much-needed in-person venue to express the present intensely felt pain and hope of the powerful women’s uprisings in Iran and the justice movement across the globe!
Sponsorship:
Sponsorships of one or more of the various programs are available for the upcoming Chaharshanbe Suri Festival, on March 14th, 2023, in New York City. The festival is dedicated to celebrating the cultural diversity and heritage of the Iranian diaspora and promoting social justice and community building.
We are proud to announce that this year's festival honors "Zan, Zendegi, Azadi," which focuses on the brave women of Iran, Afghanistan, and beyond who have stood up for their rights and freedom.
The majority of the fund would go to the artist or organizations, 10% to support organizations that support artists in countries such as Iran and Afghanistan, and a lesser portion to the more *technical magic that weaves the projects into a whole.
As a sponsor, you would have the opportunity to support the following:
American Indian Community House Land Acknowledgment
“The New York City Commission on Human Rights (“Commission”) acknowledges the land politically designated as New York City to be the homeland of the Lenape (Lenapehoking) who were violently displaced as a result of European settler colonialism over the course of 400 years. The Lenape are a diasporic people that remain closely connected with this land and are its rightful stewards. We also recognize that New York City has one of the largest urban Native American / Indigenous populations in the United States.”
Your donation brings the American Indian Community House delegate, whose initial effort 50 years ago was by a group of Native women, opening our event with a land acknowledgment that would welcome the Iranian diaspora and all other immigrants coming to the festival here on Turtle Island. The majority of your $5000 dollars goes to the American Indian Community House, whose mission is to improve and promote the well-being of the American Indian Community and to increase the visibility of American Indian cultures in an urban setting to cultivate awareness, understanding, and respect. The remaining donation will be used for documentation, sound system, tents, lights, and event preparation for the day.
2- Community Theater Performance with Kayhan Irani
Kayhan will be accompanied by a spiritual dancer providing a heart-centering and unity-building movement for ourselves, our community, and the larger movements across our mother earth, highlighting Zan Zendegi Azadi.
Kayhan is an Emmy-award-winning writer, a cultural activist, and a Theater of the Oppressed trainer. She creates art to build community and connect audiences to social justice issues. She regularly partners with NGOs, government agencies, and community-based organizations to use theater and story-based strategies for organizing, engagement, and education. Kayhan was one of ten artists named by President Obama’s White House as a 2016 White House Champion of Change for her art and storytelling work.
3- The Tree of Life and Simorgh Altar, designed and created by Aresh Javadi
The artwork created by Aresh Javadi is titled "Simorgh and the Tree of Life" and serves as the centerpiece of the Chaharshanbe Suri altar. This artwork represents nature and the transformative light of collective wisdom through the Simorgh. The Tree of Life provides a space for community performances centered around the fable, Conference of the Birds by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar, and live events showcasing the bravery and inner wisdom of Iranian and diaspora women.
The Tree of Life was created through traditional blacksmithing, with steel bars bent and woven by hand using heat and human power. Community gardeners and members learned these traditional practices from master blacksmiths from Ukraine. The artwork took three months to manifest from the idea to the sketch board to the Metalsmith's shop. Overall, the artwork symbolizes nature, transformation, and collective wisdom, highlighting the women's movement "Zan Zendegi Azadi" and was created through traditional methods with the help of community members and master craftsmen.
The Tree of Life’s sacred geometry and insightful fiery Simorgh Altar will be the central sculpture around which the event and main fire jumping are held. The Tree of Life holds the space for the community performances that are centered around the fable, Conference of the Birds by Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar, and the parallel live events in how the women of Iran and diaspora come together through adversity and bravery to share their inner Simorgh with the world through their collective wisdom.)
Aresh is an artist, educator, and community activist. He was raised in the fertile soil of Shiraz, Iran, a city of enchanted gardens and Hafiz’s mystic love poems. He uses earth-based arts and public celebration as key ingredients in co-creating with communities to find solutions for a just world. Javadi’s artwork has been created and shown throughout NYC, especially in her community gardens, parks, and overseas. He has taught art and activism for universities like NYU, Columbia, Pace, Hampshire, and Pomona Colleges. Drawing on inspiration from the natural world, his craft is based on principles of sacred geometry and community-based art. His integration of arts and justice has led to preserving and enhancing over five hundred community gardens in NYC.
Aresh Javadi (Left), Vidhya, and Lissette working on the Tree of Life alter (Right)
4- Joules Magus, Fire Producer and Performer
Joules Magus is a talented Azerbaijani fire performer and producer based in NYC. She is known for her charismatic energy, innovative choreography, and commitment to safety. Having produced some of the largest theatrical fire shows in NYC, she leverages her technical expertise to push the boundaries of fire constantly. As a master of her craft, Joules continues to inspire and innovate, using fire as a medium for connection, spirituality, and artistic expression.
5- Amir Vahab, Music Performer
We will have the amazing Sufi musicians Tanbour/Amir Vahab ensemble for our music performance. The New York Times calls Vahab the “ambassador for silenced music.” Honored as a peacemaker and virtuoso, Vahab is a composer/vocalist and lecturer specializing in various traditional Persian instruments: the tanbur, ney, daf, tar, and oud.
Amir is noted for his expertise in Persian culture and history and the spirituality present in his music and teachings. Amir has been described as “one of the world’s most revered players and composers of Persian folk music.” Amir is the leader and principal player of the Amir Vahab Ensemble.
*A smaller portion of each $5,000 donation goes to paying for the technical magic that weaves the projects into a whole:
Events manager
Materials for the altar, banners, “Zan Zendegi, Azadi” wishing tree
Audio equipment
Transportation
Tents
Fire Producer
Fire materials, firewood, fire pits, fire screens
New website, & web manager
Fire Security personnel
Ground Security
Documentation
Publicity
Thank you!
Aresh Javadi
Executive Director, More Gardens! Fund 🙏🏼🎶❤️🔥