Stories from the Uyghur Diaspora.
At WEghur Stories, we are working to create a conversation within and about the global Uyghur diaspora. Each episode highlights members of that diaspora who are working in the arts, sciences, academia, or advocacy. We want to highlight their stories for our audience, while also creating a place where they can connect with one another.
WEghur Stories is produced by The New Wild, a multidisciplinary art lab.
Team
Mukaddas Mijit
Co-Creator, Co-Host, Producer
Dr. Mukaddas Mijit is a Uyghur ethnomusicologist, filmmaker, and artist born in Urumqi, the capital of the Uyghur region, and currently based in France. Living in Europe since 2003, her artistic and academic work are shaped around promoting Uyghur artistic expressions and culture. After obtaining a PhD in ethnomusicology, she was involved with numerous research projects and created several documentary films about Uyghur music and arts. Prior to earning her PhD she worked as a music manager, bringing musicians from the Uyghur region to various music festivals around the world. She is developing her first fiction short film about the Uyghur crisis. She earned an MA at the University of Sorbonne, studying Sufi practices in the Uyghur Region, and a PhD in ethnomusicology at the University of Paris Nanterre in 2015, where her dissertation examined “Staging of Uyghur Music and Dance.”
John Bair
Co-Creator, Co-Host, Producer
John Bair is an American writer who specializes in helping other people tell their stories. His background combines policy and storytelling, and he has worked as a foreign policy analyst, a political speechwriter, and a narrative consultant. He is a co-creator of “Everybody Is Gone,” an immersive live event about the crimes against humanity being perpetrated by the Chinese government against the Uyghur people. He is also a co-author of the new musical “Tear a Root from the Earth,” which uses Afghan and American folk music to examine the legacy of American involvement in Afghanistan. John is also a Collaborating Artist at The New Wild, a multidisciplinary art lab. He has a degree in Asian & Middle Eastern studies from Dartmouth College, and a Master of Education from the George Washington University. He lives in New York City.
Marina McClure
Producer
Marina McClure is the Founding Director of The New Wild, a multidisciplinary art lab. She directs large-scale live events. She lives in New York City.