Join us on Monday, June 29, 2026 at the Civitella Castle for Presentations by Ghazi Al-Mulaifi and Victoria Chang. We will welcome you with light refreshments at 6:00 PM. Reserve your spot below or tune in to our livestream on Instagram @CivitellaRanieri.
6PM CEST Welcome Cocktail
6:15PM CEST/12:15PM EDT Presentations
Ghazi Faisal Al-Mulaifi is a bandleader, composer, ethnomusicologist, and professor of music at NYU Abu Dhabi. A Venice Biennale artist with a PhD in music from NYU, in 2017 he founded Boom.Diwan, an ensemble credited with introducing Khaleeji Jazz into the jazz lexicon. Inspired by Kuwait’s maritime heritage, Boom.Diwan bridges pearl diving traditions, Afro-Khaleeji rhythms, and jazz through improvisation and cultural exchange. Al-Mulaifi’s work continues to foster musical dialogue and revitalize Gulf traditions.
Victoria Chang’s book of poems Tree of Knowledge is forthcoming with Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Her most recent book of poems, With My Back to the World, for which Chang received the Forward Prize for Best Collection of Poetry, was published in 2024 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Corsair Books in the U.K. She is a Professor at Georgia Tech and serves as the Bourne Chair in Poetry and the Director of Poetry@Tech.