THE PEOPLE'S SOUNDSYSTEM w/ SHIRINE SAAD

How to reimagine a liberatory digging, remixing, gathering and dance culture for our times? The People’s Soundsystem will explore the archives of underground selecting, mixing, MCing and experimentations from the early Jamaican dancehalls to the clubs, streets and warehouses of Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore and New York. A deep listening practice reveals the revolutionary movements on and off the dancefloors and studios of Black, Brown and Queer communities worldwide, in constant reinvention of the beat, the rhythm, the effect, and the playlist for radical transformation and joy.

This workshop offers an introduction to:

• The Soundsystem: history and theory
• How to DJ: First steps
• Group mixtape and hands on mixing

__

Shirine Saad is a Beirut-born, Brooklyn-based writer, programmer and DJ focusing on culture and social change. They are launching an experimental production organization presenting new ideas, publications and performances globally. Consider supporting us!

Shirine was recently Assistant Professor of the Practice in Arts Journalism and Criticism at Brown University, where they were the Founding Editor of a multimedia arts journal, MOVEMENTS. They hold a PhD in Philosophy, Art and Social Thought at the European Graduate School (Committee: Denise Ferreira da Silva, Fred Moten, Jasbir Puar, Stefano Harney.)

Their theoretical essay on Arab* feminist and queer art is forthcoming at Routledge; a volume dedicated to the same topic as well as a compilation record and zine are forthcoming. Eruptions: A Noise Zine was released fall 2025, funded by the Brooklyn Arts Council.

Shirine has received a research and programming grant from Columbia University’s Incite Institute and a research fellowship from the Women Photographers International Archive. They have worked as Interim Programming Director and Ideas Editor at music organization National Sawdust and runs a DJ learning series for BIPOC women, nonbinary and LGBTQ folks and Hiya Live Sessions, a platform for radical feminist SWANA artists. They have programmed and DJd events for Creative Time, BAM, the Brooklyn Museum, The Brooklyn Library, National Sawdust, Soho House, The Rockaway Hotel, Miss Lily’s; launched the Rockaway Beach Reggae Jam and Gyal Tings Soundsystem.

www.shirinesaad.com