Baaba Maal: Duniya Salaam Artist in Residence with Daande Lenol (2020)
Role: Curator, producer, program manager, operations & logistics, budget manager, fundraising, partnership development
Global superstar Baab Maal gave his first performance in a decade in Toronto as part of a 5-day artist residency at the Aga Khan Museum. Along with his 7-piece ensemble, Maal gave two sold-out concerts, three youth and adult music workshops, a panel discussion, and multiple public events, including appearing on CBC’s Q with Tom Power.
Concerts
Over the course of two evenings, Baaba Maal and his 7-piece ensemble, Daande Lenol, gave two sold-out performances. In front of an ecstatic crowd, performances included dancing on stage (and off!), as well as an opportunity for local musician Justin Gray to perform with Maal and his ensemble onstage, opening the concert each evening. The concerts marked the first time Maal had performed in Toronto in 10 years. The performances were part of a larger Senegalese week celebration, to support the museum’s then temporary exhibtion Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture and Exchange Across Medieval Saharan Africa and artist Ekow Nimakow’s exhibition Building Black Civilizations.
As part of the residency, partnership and funding support was provided by Westin Harbour Castle Hotel, the Weston Family Foundation, and TD’s Ready Commitment.
Workshops & Panel Discussion
As part of the artist residency, Maal & his ensemble members gave multiple workshops and hosted a panel discussion with local musicians Shahriyar Jamshidi, Alanna Bonjay Stewart, and April Aliermo.
The workshops featured Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park residents, as well as students from priority neighborhoods throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Featuring over 60 students from 5 different neighborhoods, school programs or youth community groups, the students had a chance to perform with Baaba Maal as well as ensemble members, ask questions about his background as an artist, his work in social justice, and, of course, his experience composing for the MARVEL feature-film Black Panther.
All students and youth attending the workshop were offered free or discounted tickets to the concert performances.
The panel discussion was on the role of social change in music practice, and the opportunities artists have to advocate for justice and equity in the arts. In addition to the panel discussion exchange, Shahriyar Jamshidi, Alanna Bonjay Stuart and April Aliermo were offered free attendance to the performances and multiple networking and artist engagement opportunities with Maal and his ensemble members.
