About the To Know One Another:
Food culture played a pivotal role in the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair. Close to Home will host a scheduled series of social gatherings by serving tea in this installation. With this act of hospitality, Knight calls on viewers to consider the power of sensorial and experiential engagement to foster understanding, connection, and appreciation among people from various corners of the world.
“I lived in Cairo Egypt for six years, right before I came to the Queens Museum to start my In Situ Artist Fellowship. In Cairo, people served black tea with mint as an act of hospitality and in return, I’d do the same. To Know One Another is an ongoing social practice artwork that takes place with my solo exhibition Close to Home. On select Fridays and Saturdays throughout the exhibition, I serve Egyptian style tea with fresh mint to the public. I invite people to sit down with me and sip tea, talk, and get to know one another.
This project and the title itself is inspired by a verse in the Quran where Allah says that he created people of different races, nations, and tribes so that we can get to know one another. The research I did in the Queens Museum’s archives from the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair played a large role in my thinking for the exhibition. From its most optimistic standpoint, this World’s Fair was also an opportunity for people from different parts of the world to get to know one another. Sharing food allows us to embody this sense of knowing.” Nsenga Knight
To Know One Another Highlights
To Know One Another with Sibok Shahid Najee-ullah of SWAM Dojo
Knight’s visit to the Black Muslim-led SWAM Dojo on the occasion of their martial arts clinic in the summer of 2023 inspired the work The Clinic in her exhibition Close to Home which is currently in view at the Queens Museum. The Dojo was founded in 1977 by Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir: “I have established this organization (SWAM) to enable me to give back to the community what the martial arts have given me; to reach out and help in the prevention of negative influences which have corrupted the young, such as drugs abuse, crime, and truancy. In doing so, I have been able to provide a safe and healthy atmosphere for everyone, where we can work and live in harmony. My major point of concentration is on human development; giving pride back to the men, self-respect to the women and discipline and hope to the children.”
Every word in The Clinic, written phrases on transparent iridescent sheets suspended in the gallery space, was spoken by the inspiring Black martial arts masters as they taught one another fighting techniques that strengthen the mind, body, and spirit with the intent to uplift their collective lives. They came together that weekend last summer to celebrate SWAM’s 45th anniversary and the city’s co-naming of the street on which they’re located in honor of the Dojo. For Knight, these words felt like poetry: true love, respect and honor for the individual and community. The Clinic captures this spirit and passes it on to other people who are suffering. Join Nsenga Knight in conversation with Sibok Shahid about the legacy and tradition he upholds as one of the most honored students of Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir, the Dojo’s founder.
Sibok Shahid Najee-ullah started his martial arts journey at the age of eight while living in New Rochelle, NY. In 1992 he started to train under Sijo Abdul Mutakabbir, founder of SWAM Martial Arts Academy, Queens, and earned his 1st Degree Black Belt and gained the title of Sifu in 2001. While teaching as an instructor at SWAM, in 2019 he received the rank of 7th Degree Black Belt and achieved the prestigious title of Sibok within the SWAM FuJuKa Boxing System. Sibok Shahid is a technical consulting engineer and continues to practice and teach at SWAM where his two sons are also students.
Watch | To Know One Another with Sibok Shahid
To Know One Another with Basirah Raheem
Basirah Raheem, also known as Boshia Raejean, is a visionary poet and creative powerhouse, for a beautiful poetry reading. Basirah is the founder of OPPYMCO, where she seamlessly blends artistry and insight to guide others on their creative journeys. Her recently published book, “The Dissolving Cloud,” is a profound poetic exploration of transformation and spiritual growth, reflecting her deep connection to love and light. Recognized by platforms such as The Grio and featured in Vogue Arabia, Basirah’s voice resonates deeply in the intersection of Islam, hip-hop, and arts culture, especially through her acclaimed podcast, “Young Black Muslimah.”
Watch | To Know One Another with Basirah Raheem
To Know One Another with Chloë Bass
Chloë Bass is a multiform conceptual artist working in performance, situation, conversation, publication, and installation. Her work uses daily life as a site of deep research to address scales of intimacy: where patterns hold and break as group sizes expand. Chloë has held numerous fellowships and residencies: most recently, the 2022 – 2024 Kupferberg Arts Incubator residency, a 2022 – 2023 Silver Art Project residency, the 2022 Future Imagination Fund Fellowship at NYU Tisch College of the Arts, a 2020 – 2022 Faculty Fellowship for the Seminar in Public Engagement at the Center for Humanities (CUNY Graduate Center), and a 2020 – 2022 Lucas Art Fellowship at Montalvo Art Center. Her projects have appeared nationally and internationally, including recent exhibits at the Buffalo AKG, the Middelheim Museum, the Bentway, Skirball Cultural Center, California African-American Museum / Art + Practice, Henry Art Gallery, The Pulitzer Arts Foundation, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Mass MoCA, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, BAK basis voor actuele kunst, and elsewhere. Reviews, mentions of, and interviews about her work have appeared in Artforum, The New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, Hyperallergic, The Brooklyn Rail, BOMB, Temporary Art Review, and Artnews among others. She is an Associate Professor of Art at Queens College, CUNY, where she co-runs Social Practice CUNY with Gregory Sholette, with whom she published the book Art and Social Action in 2018. You can follow her on Instagram @publicinvestigator.