The Mouth of the Sun: A creative incubator program focused on Muslim women and gender-expansive folk

“I COMMIT / TO FRICTION AND THE UNDERTAKING OF THE PEARL…
I AM TASTING MYSELF / IN THE MOUTH OF THE SUN”
– June Jordan

Everyone has an opinion about Muslim women and gender expansive folk. But what if we ignored the world’s noise and turned inward to excavate our own narratives of friction and pearl.

The Mouth of the Sun is a creative incubator program focused on Muslim women and gender expansive folk who want to harness the power of personal narrative, and turn that narrative outward to effect change.

Apply to join a cohort of talented Muslim women and gender-expansive folk. We’ll gather this spring in a safe space to dig deep and write together over a weekend, guided by author and cultural organizer, Roohi Choudhry. Over the summer, we’ll curate a public performance and discussion event focused on how to channel personal narrative into a movement. Along the way, you’ll receive one-on-one coaching and feedback.

The incubator program consists of three components:

1) May 1st - 3rd, 2026 - Intensive writing workshop (in-person), New York City
During the intensive, Roohi will guide participants through writing exercises, art-making, activities, and discussion to generate new work and ideas rooted in your own experiences.

2) Public performance and panel (in-person), New York City
Date to be scheduled in June or July, 2026
Participants will read from their work and discuss their perspectives on how to springboard personal narratives into related activism and advocacy efforts.

3) Individual coaching and feedback (virtual). Summer 2026

About the facilitator: Roohi Choudhry is a writer, cultural organizer, and researcher. Born in Pakistan and raised in southern Africa, she now calls Kensington in Brooklyn, NY home. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan and was awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship. Her debut novel, Outside Women (University Press of Kentucky, 2025) was described as “riveting… an incisive story of how change happens” by Publishers’ Weekly. www.roohichoudhry.com

Application Instructions

Apply here: https://bit.ly/mouthofthesun
Applications due March 1, 2026

If you have any questions or concerns, please email workshops@artsanddemocracy.org