By Us, About Us, and For All.
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.
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.
ADVOCATE
Our storytelling disrupts divisive narratives, fosters critical dialogue, and challenges assumptions—cultivating empathy as a force for social change.
EDUCATE
We commission and produce live and digital artistic works rooted in Pan‑Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences—where culture, identity, and imagination intertwine.
Meet Our Founders
Jamil Khoury
Malik Gillani
from our blog
Podcast
Spoken essays and conversations with exciting thinkers, changemakers, innovators, and disruptors through a polycultural lens.
Latest Episodes:
Get Involved
By Us, About Us, and For All.
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.
Creative
We commission and produce live and digital artistic works rooted in Pan‑Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences—where culture, identity, and imagination intertwine.
ADVOCATE
Our storytelling disrupts divisive narratives, fosters critical dialogue, and challenges assumptions—cultivating empathy as a force for social change.
EDUCATE
Through workshops, community events, and our Polycultural Institute, we invite lifelong learners into conversations that bridge divides and spark new possibilities.
Podcast
what we do
Featured Initiatives
Chicago is America’s modern Silk Road—a vibrant cultural hub where ideas, histories, and people intersect. SRCC emerges from this spirit, carrying forward a 2,000‑year‑legacy of interconnection. We believe representation isn’t optional—it’s essential to building empathy, equity, and cross‑cultural solidarity.
Think & Create:
Seeking Whether as individuals or collectives, the quest for purpose, meaning, and belonging remains ever present in our daily lives. It inspires us to seek greater understanding of ourselves and each other in relation to the world around us.
Aphasia Arts Forum:
Art as recovery. Celebrating speech and creativity by and with people living with aphasia—led by Founder Malik Gillani.
Watch and Learn
Explore our award‑winning “video plays,” documentaries, and animated shorts—like Obstacle Course, Sacred Stages, and community‑written monologues.
featured causes
Explore our causes
How you can help
Get Involved
Watch. Immersive video plays, documentaries, animations, and live events—experience voices beyond the mainstream.
Learn. Join workshops at schools, libraries, community centers—learn with artists, students, and educators.
Support. Become a Bridge Builder with monthly gifts, include us in your legacy giving, or give appreciated stock.
01
Partner with us
Support allows us to deepen connections, uplift underrepresented voices, and heal through art.
02
Volunteer
You can make a huge difference to your community and the young people in it.
03
Donate
Every contribution helps shape an America where diverse stories are heard, understood, and celebrated.
Become a Bridge Builder
