Shumaila Hemani
Sharing compelling cultural stories, Dr. Hemani, the recipient of Women in Music Canada’s inaugural Honor Roll (2023) has contributed to Calgary’s art for social change initiatives with her Cultural Diversity Award-winning debut album, Mannat, integrating Sufi poetry with soundscapes of climate change. It was featured in the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal, National Observer, BBC, and CBC’s What on Earth as a powerful album bringing hope to the victims of the flood.
Presently, she is composing a series of evocative performed poems and soundscapes on energy justice called Trembling Poplars based on the series of deep listening workshops with climate stakeholders in Edmonton and Calgary organized as part of her artist residency at Trico Changemakers Studio (2022-24) and International Centre of Arts for Social Change (2023) in partnership with Alberta Ecotrust.
