Melike Konur (artist//mother)

The music is composed and led largely in part by vocalist and performing artist Melike Konur.
Melike is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship at the New School which is shaping the vision of her AfroTurkish soul music. Melike places weighted importance on bringing in predominantly BIPOC, femme-identified musicians and composers to work on the final stages of the work. She has joined with Makariah Gaddis, composer and jazz musician based in Taiwan, who will be meticulously transcribing each song in its current state while also providing input on the melodic structures of each of the 5 songs currently being finalized.

Once the music is transcribed, Melike will be able to move on to the rehearsal and workshop space and then shortly after the performance and recording stages of creating MUVA. MUVA is a two part project. The generative part is a workshop I have developed for my community of Black performing artist mothers to come together with our families and share space and as the starting off point we share and play a game I built around my song “Mama Says”. The second part is an Afro-futuristic, live performance that echoes the supported creative environment of the workshop. The mission of my project, MUVA, as a living entity aims to nurture the creative forces inherent in Black performing artist mothers [+ families]. 

As an artist/mother and as an engaged community member, I have found that currently there are few systems, venues, grants, and residency/fellowship opportunities that actively support Black performing artist mothers [+ families]. To address this need, I wish to develop a holistic workshop-to-stage pathway through a program that offers the resources necessary to facilitate and nurture Black performing artist//mother performing arts practices. Our voices are an essential part of the creative narrative of the greater ecosystem of the arts.