All proceeds from this event will go directly to supporting our Mukti [freedom] and Ananda [joy] initiatives.
At a glance, so far in 2024 Sapna’s Mukti and Ananda initiatives have:
- Hosted our first ever Ramadan iftar for survivors of domestic violence and their children
- Supported 36 survivors of domestic violence through case management
- Organized 2 joyous community celebrations with over 100 women and children at each event
- Provided 493 mental health counseling sessions in Bengali, Hindi, and Urdu
- Facilitated 25 Women’s circle sessions with various in-person events
- Grew our weekly women’s walking club in the Bronx to over 50 participants
- Co-hosted 2 cultural events, one for Mother Language Day and one for the Bengali New Year
Click here to listen to the Sapna NYC Festival of Dreams playlist.
Anika Hossain (IG: @songsbyanika) is a musician and cultural professional. Classically trained in Bangladesh, she has a strong foundation in Bangla music and appeared on national television as a child artist. Anika is passionate about promoting and preserving Bengali culture, working with organizations such as Bengalis of New York (BoNY) and the Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA).
Spondon (IG: @spondonbafa) is a music and cultural educator. He is currently serving as an Artistic Director at the Bangladesh Academy of Fine Arts (BAFA) teaching Indian Classical, Bangla songs, and Guitar in the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn. He is the grandson of Ustad Munshi Raisuddin, pioneer of Indian Classical music in Bangladesh. His goal is to spread Bengali music and cultural education to all that have an interest.
Ayana Arts brings together a community of young professionals seeking to further cultivate their passion and experience in the South Asian arts. They aim to encourage fusion across all art forms, geographic regions, and styles with the shared goal of creating an innovative and unique performance. Ayana provides an enjoyable outlet for artists to collaborate, share and explore their talents. They push the boundaries of traditional South Asian performing arts while remaining rooted in and honoring our South Asian culture and heritage.
Chef Surbhi Sahni, a long-time Sapna NYC supporter, uses her platform to support and collaborate with other brown, queer, local and women-led companies who share an ethos to make products that are delicious, sustainable and do social good. Sahni, award-winning chef-owner of NYC’s Indian mithai shop TAGMO, celebrates India’s diverse food cultures, home cooking traditions, and modern Indian cuisine. Chef Sahni has been featured in various publications including Oprah Magazine, Wine Spectator, and Food & Wine.
Chef Sahni focuses on homestyle cooking infusing it with all her identities and lived experiences. During the pandemic, Chef Sahni met the moment with regional Indian meals home delivered throughout New York City. She did 65 weeks of deliveries and never repeated a dish. In her words, “In some ways, it felt like I was learning a new language. I was researching, calling people up, and having conversations about food. I had free reign for a year-and-a-half to do so many varieties of food.” Sahni, a queer South Asian woman who came out later in life, strives to be inclusive in everything she does inside and outside of the kitchen. That includes challenging perceptions of “authentic” Indian cuisine by centering homestyle regional cooking of all kinds.
Arufa (IG: @Itiseyeris) is the owner of “Eyeris” shop. She strives to contribute to diversity in various spaces, with twists of authentic traditional and modern South Asian, Bangladeshi/des(h)i-fusion and other aesthetics through a variety of handcrafted jewelry, customized clothing, and accessories. Arufa identifies as a queer, first-generation, Bangladeshi Muslim-American, New Yorker, and the eldest daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants, who is passionately diversifying spaces through creative arts at curated community events, museum spaces, educational settings, and beyond.
50% of all proceeds for this event will go towards Sapna NYC’s holistic social services for our community.
