Founded by Malik Gillani and Jamil Khoury, Silk Road Cultural Center (SRCC) is an interdisciplinary arts organization rooted in Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences. SRCC embraces the arts as a catalyst for connecting people, places, histories, and futures by providing a powerful and inclusive platform for artists to amplify their voices and honor the rich legacies of the historic Silk Road. Guided by a vision of vibrant and interconnected communities, from its inception, Silk Road has been on a groundbreaking and momentous journey of discovery, growth, and expansion, evolving from Silk Road Theatre Project (2002) to Silk Road Rising (2012) and now to Silk Road Cultural Center (2024).

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Drawn to the artistry and healing power of Silk Road’s mission and its founders, and inspired by its creative and generative response to the attacks of 9/11, Kristin entered into conversation with Malik. A thought partnership quickly developed around mutual concerns that the “one size fits all best practices” being foisted upon nonprofits were not viable. Kristin and Malik shared a deep interest in exploring how organization-aligned practices could work better. When Kristin discovered the “Artistic Process Centered” philosophy and approach articulated by Nello McDaniel and George Thorn of ARTS Action Research, it resonated powerfully with our own discoveries and a collaboration emerged. Since 2010, Kristin has partnered with Silk Road on a succession of projects that began with re-envisioning their board and then expanded to include artistic visioning and strategic planning.

Our work with Kristin over the years has proven to be invaluable; it’s enabled us to reaffirm our values as a company, help us make strategic planning decisions, and strengthen our board. We cherish our partnership and all that we have learned from these experiences.

Malik Gillani and Jamil Khoury

Co-Founders, Silk Road Cultural Center

Photo Credit: Kyle Bondeson