Question:
WHY does Silk Road Rising exist?
Answer:
Because we need to EXPAND THE AMERICAN STORY.
Silk Road Rising is a Chicago-based, community-centered, artmaking and arts service organization rooted in Pan-Asian*, North African, and Muslim experiences. Through storytelling, digital media, and arts education, we cultivate new narratives, challenge disinformation, and promote a culture of continuous learning.

*We define Pan-Asian as inclusive of all cultures that span the Asian continent, including their diaspora communities.
Silk Road Cultural Center is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary arts organization rooted in the modern communities of the historic Silk Roads, including our diaspora communities. We embrace the arts as a catalyst for connecting people, places, histories, and futures.

Cultivating New Narratives

Create

We commission and produce live and digital artistic works rooted in Pan‑Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences—where culture, identity, and imagination intertwine.

Challenging Divisions

Advocate

Our storytelling disrupts divisive narratives, fosters critical dialogue, and challenges assumptions—cultivating empathy as a force for social change.

Promoting a Culture of Continuous Learning

Educate

Through workshops, community events, and our Polycultural Institute, we invite lifelong learners into conversations that bridge divides and spark new possibilities.
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Rebuilding Syria Part 6: A Cradle of Christianity

“Because in Christendom, all roads lead to Syria”
Syria isn’t just part of Christianity’s story—it’s where Christianity was born. From St. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus to the word “Christian” first being coined in Antioch, the roots of the faith are deeply embedded in Syrian soil.But today, those roots are under threat. Since the Syrian war began in 2011, nearly ninety percent of Syria’s Christians have fled. And yet, we refuse to accept that the Christian story of Syria is one of forever decline. In Part 6 of our Rebuilding Syria series, Host Jamil Khoury explores Syria's Christian history and present-day struggle, and his hopes for an Eastern Christian renaissance. Because Syria’s Christians are not outsiders—they are home. And their survival matters for all Syrians.
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Road Less Traveled

You Are Cordially Invited

Road Less Traveled

Join us on Saturday, November 22nd, for a staged reading of Lyra Nalan's Road Less Traveled!

Framed by Robert Frost’s beloved poem “The Road Not Taken,” Road Less Traveled intertwines the lives of Frost and Chinese American trailblazer, Tye Leung Schulze. Set in the early twentieth century, these two iconoclastic figures appear in distinct yet parallel worlds as they wrestle with choices, consequences, and meanings.

🗓️ When: Saturday, November 22, 2025, at 2:00 PM
📍 Where: 150 North Michigan Ave, 3rd Floor, Randolph Room, Chicago, IL
🎟️ Tickets are free, but advanced registration is required

This staged reading is being supported by the Paul M. Angell Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Reserve Your Tickets Today!

In Conversation

Silk Road Cultural Center's Jamil Khoury speaks with Assyrian American theater artist, Atra Asdou, about her new play "Iraq, But Funny," premiering at Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre Company, May 29 - July 20, 2025.

The conversation also explores Assyrian identity in the diaspora, and a Who's Who of Assyrian American art makers.

For more information about the production, read HERE

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Contact

Silk Road Cultural Center
150 N Michigan Ave, Ste 1970
Chicago, IL 60601
Phone:
312-857-1234
Fax:
312-577-0849
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Silk Road Cultural Center is a dba of Gilloury Institute, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization
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