About Duniya Collective

Kinan Abou-afach (he/him) is an acclaimed cellist, oud player, composer, and recipient of the prestigious Pew Fellowship in 2013. The Syrian-born musician began his musical studies at the age of seven studying at the Arabic Institute of Music in Damascus, where he eventually joined the National Syrian Symphony Orchestra and performed with the Middle Eastern Ensemble. As a composer, Abou-afach crafts music that is​ ​saturated with unique scales, rhythmic grooves​, and improvisation-esque​ ​​progressions, keeping with some traditions while sounding contemporary. He ​works on creating a sound that is ​​based​ ​loosely on the Arabic modal traditions known as maqam​, while using elements from the western traditions (Classical, Jazz, Electronic, Musique concrète)​. More info on Kinan can be found at http://www.kinanmusic.com/

Mariam Ali (all pronouns) is a poet and lover of trees. She enjoys roller blading, dancing, and putting ink to paper.

Yogini Borgaonkar (she/her) is a designer interested in creating enjoyable physical and digital products through interaction and storytelling.

Grace Blair (she/her) is a holistic practitioner and mixed media artist. She strives to incorporate nature and everyday materials into her art. An herbalism apprentice of Karen Rose of Sacred Vibes Apothecary, Grace is also a reiki master and early childhood educator. Her love for art began in childhood and through her life her conviction in art's power to convey story and emotion has only strengthened. Tune into her podcast, Something About Grace, available on all platforms.

From toddler to adulthood, Syamesvari Prema Cusmai (she/her) has been formally training in various dance forms including musical theatre, tap, jazz, hip-hop, modern/lyrical, ballet, Odissi, salsa, bachata, kizomba, and contemporary West Indian and West African styles. In 2016, she graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor's in Social Work and a Spanish language minor, in 2017 with her Master's, and 2021 with her Certificate in Massage Therapy. However, Syamesvari desired to share her passion with the youth of her spiritual communities so she began directing them in introductory-level theatrical productions based on ancient Vedic history and utilizing contemporary performance techniques. Most recently, Syamesvari has been navigating the spectrum of disciplines that she has lent herself to by staying grounded in her core self as a student of the arts and a performer of enthusiasm for them.

Ebrahim Taha Elsheikh 

Kakoli Ghosh-Mukherjee (she/her) is the co-founder of Sakshi Productions. She has been dancing odissi since the age of 12, Kakoli first learned under Guru Ramli Ibrahim in her hometown of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and presently studies with Guru Durga Charan Ranbir. Kakoli has performed extensively throughout the US, UK, Malaysia and India. Prior to Sakshi Productions, Kakoli was a co-founder of the Trinayan Collective (2003-2008).   

donia salem harhoor (they/she) is an egyptian-american bibliophile and believer in game nights. Executive director of The Outlet Dance Project, founder of the Duniya Collective, vice-chair of the Odissi Alliance of North America, they are an alum of Community of Writers, Open Mouth Poetry Retreat, and Urban Bush Women’s Summer Leadership Institute. harhoor was Ground For Sculptures’ inaugural Performing Artist in Residence. donia is a principal dancer and choreographer with Sakshi Productions and has been a student of acclaimed Odissi Guru, Durga Charan Ranbir for the past 20 years, working closely with the virtuosic Rahul Acharya. Performances include The Sheen Center, Princeton University, The Painted Bride, the 14th Street Y, and Alvin Ailey. A 2022 Lambda Literary Retreat Fellow and finalist in Frontier Poetry’s New Voices Award, they were a 2021 runner-up for Spoon River Poetry Review's Editor's Prize and finalist for Palette Poetry’s Sappho Prize. donia's work has appeared in Mizna/AAWW’s I WANT SKY, Swim Pony’s TrailOff project, Anomaly, Spoon River Poetry Review, and Sukoon magazine. An herbalism apprentice of Karen Rose of Sacred Vibes Apothecary, their MFA in Interdisciplinary Art is from Goddard College. More on donia at doniasalemharhoor.com.

Annmarie Holler (she/her)  is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus on painting, fine art photography, and printmaking. Annmarie's work stems from an interpretation of her natural surrounds. She is fascinated by the lines, patterns, textures, and colors and wants to evoke an appreciation for these hidden treasures we often overlook. Besides finding inspiration through nature, she discovers ideas through her work as an educator; teaching foundation courses at different colleges in NJ, as well as with her colleagues at Grounds For Sculpture. 

Ananga Martin (she/her) is an orange groves-to-Appalachia singer/songwriter living in West Virginia. Her music is an offering of love to the inner and outer landscapes of the heart, dreams, and all of the places she finds home. Moonlight and Fire, her debut album, was released in 2019. A frequent performer in the Ohio Valley Region, her shows are known and loved for their intimate heartfelt nature-based songs that are spontaneous, cohesive, and healing. A mother of three, Ananga can usually be found under the poke trees, talking to plants, or walking circles in her kitchen. Making songs tethers her.

Arush Ahan Pathak has studied composition with Aiv Rubino and Nick DiBerardino. Ahan embarked on his musical adventures at age 4, studying piano with Eileen Leibowitz. He is now a student of renowned pianist Michelle Cann. He is also studying guitar with Bollywood Music Composer Jayanta Pathak. Ahan, 13, has performed three times at Carnegie Hall. His compositions  are inspired by a desire to lend musical soundtracks to his vivid dreams.  

Yamini Pathak (she/her) is the author of the chapbooks, Atlas of Lost Places (Milk and Cake Press) and Breath Fire Water Song (Ghost City Press). Her words are forthcoming or have appeared in About Place Journal, Tupelo Quarterly, Vida Review, Waxwing, Poetry Northwest, The Kenyon Review blog, Kweli Journal, and elsewhere. She is a Poet in Schools for the Geraldine Dodge Foundation, serves as poetry editor for Inch micro-chapbooks (Bull City Press), and is an MFA candidate at Antioch University, Los Angeles. Yamini is an alumnus of VONA/Voices and Community of Writers, and is a member of the Duniya Collective. Born in India, she lives with her family in New Jersey.  

Sukadeva Prabhu (he/him) is a faithful student in the art of playing mridanga - a two-headed drum with roots in Bengal. He has studied under the world renowned percussionist Ananta Govinda during his childhood at the esteemed Radha Govinda Mandir. Sukadeva has absorbed himself in the study of all the nuances of rhythm and melody that can be produced by his beloved instrument. His only aspiration and interest is in serving the devotees of Sri Krishna in the most beautiful way possible.

Ann Robideaux (she/her) is a choreographer and dance film-maker.  Her investigations into non-traditional dance spaces have taken her to the bellows of historic steamships in NYC, cobblestone streets of Argentina and natural settings throughout the U.S. Recent works include the opera "A Journal of the Plague Year" (UNColorado), "Social Fabric, in the public square" in the courtyard of Guild Hall (East Hampton, NY) and several dance-film collaborations with donia salem harhoor.  Currently, Ann is the dance and theater coordinator at Princeton Day School, an associate director of The Outlet Dance Project and the Founder of Asana Alphabet Yoga for Kids. More at www.AnnMakesDances.com. 

Shyama Salem (he/him) is a musician based in Central Jersey.