The People's Soundsystem w/ Shirine Saad

A three-hour workshop on DJ culture, soundsystem history, and the revolutionary movements that animate Black, Brown, and Queer communities worldwide. Shirine Saad — Beirut-born writer, programmer, and DJ — leads you through the archives of underground selecting and mixing from early Jamaican dancehalls to the clubs and warehouses of Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, and New York. You'll learn the basics of how to DJ, explore the theory behind soundsystems, and collaborate on building a liberation mixtape together.

Shirine is an Assistant Professor of the Practice in Arts Journalism and Criticism at Brown University and founding editor of MOVEMENTS, a multimedia arts journal. They hold a PhD in Philosophy, Art and Social Thought from the European Graduate School and have programmed and DJed events for Creative Time, BAM, the Brooklyn Museum, and National Sawdust. Their work centers culture and social change, with forthcoming theoretical essays on Arab feminist and queer art. They also run a DJ learning series for BIPOC women, nonbinary, and LGBTQ folks, and Hiya Live Sessions, a platform for radical feminist SWANA artists.

Sliding scale pricing ($30–50), so come as you can. The room is intimate and hands-on — expect to get your hands on the equipment and leave with a real sense of how to approach the 1s and 2s.