The Qalanjo Project

The Qalanjo Project The Qalanjo Project is a Somali cultural organization and creative arts studio located in Minneapolis, MN.

Much of our work at TQP begins with a desire to gather in community.Dumar Fest brought that work into a different settin...
09/30/2026

Much of our work at TQP begins with a desire to gather in community.

Dumar Fest brought that work into a different setting. It gave us space to celebrate Somali culture through the people who carry it and give it new meaning every day. It also reminded us how much can happen when we make room for people to simply spend time together.

As we closed out a busy and beautiful summer, we’re still reflecting on the relationships built through these gatherings and what it takes to keep nurturing them.

Each event ends, but our responsibility to the community continues. That work is at the heart of it all. 🐘

What does it mean to make space for Somali womanhood in all its fullness? 🐘At Dumar Fest, it meant coming together acros...
09/30/2026

What does it mean to make space for Somali womanhood in all its fullness? 🐘

At Dumar Fest, it meant coming together across generations, making room for creativity and play, and spending time with one another. It meant celebrating Somali women and girls as artists, storytellers, business owners, and people whose joy deserves space, too.

So often, the work Somali women do to sustain community becomes the backdrop to everyone else’s gathering. Dumar Fest offered a moment to center us and to enjoy what we create and celebrate who we are.

Looking back, we’re holding those moments of connection close. We hope everyone who joined us found something of themselves in the day. 💐

We are looking back at Dumar Fest with so much gratitude. 💐Thank you to everyone who took the time to celebrate Somali w...
09/30/2026

We are looking back at Dumar Fest with so much gratitude. 💐

Thank you to everyone who took the time to celebrate Somali womanhood with us. To our vendors, thank you for sharing your creativity and businesses with our community. To our volunteers, collaborators, and everyone who helped bring the day together, thank you for the time and care you put into making it possible.

And to our community, THANK YOU for showing up, bringing your families and friends, and filling this gathering with life.

Dumar Fest was such a lovely end to a busy and beautiful summer. We’re so grateful we got to share it with you. 💐🤍🐘

Dumar Fest was made possible with funding from the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department’s Cultural Districts Arts Fund.

Continuing our look back at this year’s TQP Fellowship showcases ✨On August 22, we gathered at Open Book to celebrate Ay...
09/12/2026

Continuing our look back at this year’s TQP Fellowship showcases ✨

On August 22, we gathered at Open Book to celebrate Ayan Mahamed, our Cultural Cartography Fellow, and the culmination of her fellowship project, a zine titled ‘Generations of Storytelling By and For Somali Women’.

Throughout her fellowship, Ayan turned to Somali women themselves as keepers and producers of knowledge. Through interviews and conversations across generations, she documented the stories, experiences, accomplishments, and ways of knowing carried by Somali women in our communities.

Her project asked us to think about storytelling as more than documentation but as a way of mapping community and ensuring Somali women are able to narrate themselves and one another beyond the narrow stories so often told about us.

At the showcase, we had the opportunity to gather around and hear Ayan reflect on what she learned through the process, and celebrate a project built through womanhood and intergenerational exchange.

Our deepest gratitude to Bahja Salat, Yasmin Yassin, Ifrah Mansour, Sara Osman, Suwayda Hussien and Sahra Olad for contributing their time, knowledge, creativity, and stories to Ayan’s fellowship journey.

The Cultural Cartography Fellowship is part of TQP’s 2026 Fellowship program, creating space for emerging Somali artists in Minnesota to reflect, experiment, and develop new work rooted in our histories while imagining what comes next.

Congratulations on a beautiful culmination of your fellowship, Ayan! 🤎

A look back at our first TQP Fellowship showcase ✨On August 21, we gathered at Mixed Blood Theatre to celebrate Kaaha Ka...
09/11/2026

A look back at our first TQP Fellowship showcase ✨

On August 21, we gathered at Mixed Blood Theatre to celebrate Kaaha Kaahiye, our Stage & Story Fellow, and the work she developed throughout her fellowship.

Kaaha, who also creates and performs as Wanaago Geedi, shared a work-in-progress reading of Bonobos, an original play exploring human connection, technology, belonging, and the question of what remains when humanity is no longer at the center of the world.

Kaaha’s work as a writer, filmmaker, producer, and thinker has long been rooted in Somali life and history while moving expansively through speculative fiction, spirituality, surveillance, dis/connection, and imagined worlds. Bonobos offered us a glimpse into what becomes possible when Somali artists are given the space to experiment, take creative risks, and build worlds on their own terms.

We are deeply grateful to everyone who gathered with us to witness this work in progress and offer their reflections as Kaaha continues developing the piece.

Special thanks to Mixed Blood Theatre for welcoming us into their space, and to Brandon Pegram, Nadwa Huss, and Sara Osman for their support of Kaaha and this work.

The Stage & Story Fellowship is part of TQP’s 2026 Fellowship program, creating space for emerging Somali artists in Minnesota to develop new work rooted in our histories while imagining what comes next.

Congratulations, Kaaha! We can’t wait to see where your work goes from here! 🐘

📣 VENDOR + ARTIST CALL!We still have a few spaces available at Dumar Fest!We are looking for women-owned businesses, art...
08/24/2026

📣 VENDOR + ARTIST CALL!

We still have a few spaces available at Dumar Fest!

We are looking for women-owned businesses, artists, makers, food and drink vendors, and performers working across:

Food • Sweets • Drinks • Florals • Jewelry • Clothing • Art • Henna • Weaving • Photography • Dance • Music • Poetry

Dumar Fest will take place on Saturday, August 29. There are no vendor fees, and vendors will keep all proceeds from their sales.

Interested in joining us? Send us a DM or email [email protected] as soon as possible. 💌

Please feel free to share this call with a woman-owned business, artist, maker, or performer you would love to see at Dumar Fest! 💐

DUMAR FEST is almost here! 💌Join us on Saturday, August 29 for a full day celebrating Somali women through movement, art...
08/24/2026

DUMAR FEST is almost here! 💌

Join us on Saturday, August 29 for a full day celebrating Somali women through movement, art, food, film, performance, storytelling, and community.

✨ THE SCHEDULE ✨

10 AM–12 PM | MORNING
Pilates, movement, tea, and time outdoors.

2 PM-6 PM | AFTERNOON MARKETPLACE
Food, florals, henna, athletics, scrapbooking, interactive installations, crafts, portraits, games, art, and more.

6 PM -9 PM | EVENING
Open mic, live performances, films, and a joyful night of baraanbuur. 🤩

Swipe through to check out our schedule and afternoon marketplace map. 🗺️

🎟️ This event is free, but RSVP is required. Visit the Partiful link in our bio to RSVP. You will receive the festival location after registering.

Come for one part of the day or spend the whole day with us. We can’t wait to gather with you! 💐

This Cultural Districts Arts Fund activation is funded by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department.

Here are personal invitations from our 2026 fellows, Wanaago Geedi and Ayan Mahamed, to join us for two evenings of stor...
08/19/2026

Here are personal invitations from our 2026 fellows, Wanaago Geedi and Ayan Mahamed, to join us for two evenings of storytelling and community. 🐘

For the past year, these two have been developing original projects through The Qalanjo Project’s fellowship programs. This weekend, they invite you to witness and celebrate the work they have created.

🎭 STAGE & STORY FELLOWSHIP SHOWCASE
Featuring Wanaago Geedi’s Bonobos: A Work-in-Progress Reading

In a future where most people are integrated into an online network from birth, a young woman raised outside of that world chooses to defect. What follows is a speculative exploration of technology, belonging, human connection, and our possible irrelevance.

Friday, August 21 | Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Program: 7–9 p.m. at Mixed Blood Theatre

🗺️ CULTURAL CARTOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP SHOWCASE
Featuring Ayan Mahamed’s Generations of Storytelling By and For Somali Women

Through interviews with Somali women, Ayan’s project explores the stories, experiences, and knowledge held within our communities and carried across generations.

Saturday, August 22 | 6–8 p.m. at Open Book

Both showcases will include a presentation of the fellow’s work, an artist reflection and conversation, and time to gather in community.

Come hear directly from these brilliant fellows and celebrate their work with us. Both events are free and open to the public. RSVP through the links in our bio, and please share this invitation with your people! ✨

SAVE THE DATE 💐✨DUMAR FEST
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Minneapolis, MNA day dedicated to celebrating all things Somali wom...
08/18/2026

SAVE THE DATE 💐✨

DUMAR FEST
Saturday, August 29, 2026
Minneapolis, MN

A day dedicated to celebrating all things Somali women. From our creativity and stories to our joy, brilliance, and the ways we effortlessly build and sustain community, and everything in between. 💌

We’re bringing together art, film, movement, food, conversation, community, and more for a full day of gathering.

This is just the beginning! Watch this space as we announce the exciting lineup of activities, artists, vendors, and experiences coming to Dumar Fest.

Mark your calendars + tell your people. We’ll see you on August 29! 💐

This Cultural Districts Arts Fund activation is funded by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department.

We’re excited to invite our community to two special evenings celebrating the culminating work of The Qalanjo Project’s ...
08/12/2026

We’re excited to invite our community to two special evenings celebrating the culminating work of The Qalanjo Project’s 2026 fellows! 🐘

🎭 Stage & Story: A Fellowship Showcase
Featuring original work by Wanaago Geedi
Friday, August 21 | Mixed Blood Theatre

🗺️ Cultural Cartographies: A Fellowship Showcase
Featuring original work by Ayan Mahamed
Saturday, August 22 | Open Book

Over the course of their fellowships, our two brilliant fellows have researched, experimented, and developed deeply personal, community-rooted projects exploring storytelling, memory, place, identity, and belonging through a Somali Minnesota lens.

And now comes the fun part! We are gathering to witness and celebrate all they have created.

Both showcases will feature a presentation of the fellow’s work, an artist reflection and conversation, and time to gather in community.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Advance RSVP is encouraged. Please visit the links in our bio to reserve your spot!

We hope you’ll join us for one or both evenings and help us celebrate these remarkable artists and their work. 🤍

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Minneapolis, MN

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