Halaqa Gathering

30th Aug 2025 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Rug Advice, 256 St Georges Rd, Fitzroy North VIC 3068

30.00

Halaqa Returns Music, Poetry, Art. In support of Afghan girls’ education. After a few months of stillness, Halaqa returns, not simply as an event, but as a rekindling. On the evening of August 30, we gather for the first Halaqa of our second series: an intimate night of music, poetry, spoken word, and visual art, held in the warmth of Rug Advice, a carpet gallery woven with memory and meaning. We will sit surrounded by handmade rugs, each one a story stitched with patience, exile, and beauty. From Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Lebanon, and Sumatra, musicians and poets will gather to remind us that art, too, is a form of resistance, and that even in the darkest times, we can still be light for one another. This Halaqa is a space of solidarity, and shared light, a gathering where music moves us, poetry holds us, and community carries us. This is a nonprofit event, and 50% of all proceeds will support the Goharshad Organization ( https://gowharshad.org/ ), a grassroots initiative empowering Afghan women and girls through education, training, and scholarships. Direct Link Donation: https://www.helloasso.com/associations/gowharshad/formulaires/1 • Live music across traditions • Spoken word and poetry • Visual art in an immersive space • Held within the beauty of handmade Persian carpets Come. Bring your sorrow, your joy, your fire. Let this night be a thread between us a shared breath of resistance, beauty, and hope. And as the evening draws to a close, the circle widens. We open into an improvised jam. Bring your instrument, your voice, or your stillness. Join us in weaving the final notes of the night together. A gentle note: Since you’ll be surrounded by beautiful handmade rugs, please kindly leave furry friends at home and be mindful of your footwear, choose shoes that respect the delicate nature of the space. We also kindly ask that no food or drinks be brought near the rugs, to help preserve their beauty and integrity. We acknowledge that this gathering will take place on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung people of the Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to Elders past and present, and recognise that sovereignty was never ceded. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.