June 6th MAPP
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MAPP (Mission Art Performance Project)
Saturday, June 6th, 2026
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
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ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Saturday, June 6th, 2026 | 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Red Poppy Art House
MAPP (Mission Art Performance Project)
2698 Folsom @23rd
Curator: Dina Zarif
7:15 PM – 7:45 PM
Soundscapes (A Soulful Melodic Journey)
Eliot Valz - Solo guitar
8:00 PM – 8:45 PM
Esotérica Tropical (Puerto Rican Medicinal Songs)
María José Montijo - Harp & vocals
9:00 PM – 9:45 PM
Melodies of the Hindustani Tradition (Expressive Ragas)
Kamal Ahmad - Sitar
Nilan Chaudhuri - Tabla
Exhibition:
BĀZ-TĀB (Reflection) by Sima Shahverdi, a large-scale installation featuring charcoal drawings and paper sculpture, presented as part of A Season for Iran.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
(Donation is encouraged)
Become a Patreon to Red Poppy!
https://www.patreon.com/RedPoppy
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MAPP (Mission Arts & Performance Project)
Launched in 2003, the Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP) is a homegrown bi-monthly, multidisciplinary, intercultural event that takes place in the Mission District of San Francisco. On the first Saturday of every even month of the year, the MAPP transforms ordinary spaces, such as private garages, gardens, living rooms, studios, street corners, and small businesses into pop-up performance and exhibition sites for a day/night of intimate-scale artistic and cultural exchange among a kaleidoscope of individuals and communities.
We will continue our work in presenting unique artistry to the communities that we serve.
----------------------------------------
RED POPPY MAPP TEAM:
Artistic Director | Managing Director: Dina Zarif
Content manager: Jennie Legary
Sound crew: Andrew Scott
Host: Verda Bursal
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ABOUT THE PERFORMING ARTISTS
Soundscapes (A Soulful Melodic Journey)
Eliot Valz - Solo guitar
Eliot Valz is a rising 11th -grade musician and performer at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco. He performs with Marcus Shelby’s Teen Jazz Band at CMC, Old Skool Cafe, and his rock band, Thorn. Thorn just released their new EP on Spotify, and they will be heading to the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho in March. Eliot’s musical development has been shaped through mentorship with artists including Marcus Shelby, Kyle Blaze, and Javi Madrigal. Eliot is eager to continue growing as a musician through collaboration with diverse artists in professional and creative music spaces. Follow him at @eliotvalzmusic for updates on his musical endeavors.
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Esotérica Tropical (Puerto Rican Medicinal Songs)
María José Montijo - Harp & vocals
Esotérica Tropical transcends musical boundaries with her commanding voice, harp, and fusion of Bomba rhythms with electronic production. Her self-titled debut album
was named Best Bay Area Music of 2024 by KQED, KALW, and White Crate. Her work boldly challenges colonial mentality, advocating for sovereignty and surrealism. A chance encounter with a Celtic harp on a Puerto Rican beach in 2009 transformed her from an acupuncturist into a genre-defying musical magician. Drawing on 20 years as a traditional medicine practitioner, Esotérica’s ritualistic performances have captivated audiences at major venues and festivals worldwide including Brava Theater, The Chapel, MACLA, Oakland Museum of California, SOMArts, Teatro Municipal de Cusco, Festival Color Caribe, Teatro el Supremo, and el Fiestón Cultural del Instituto de Cultura de PR.
----------------------------------------
Melodies of the Hindustani Tradition (Expressive Ragas)
Kamal Ahmad - Sitar
Nilan Chaudhuri - Tabla
Kamal Ahmad's path to music wasn't conventional, and that's exactly what makes him a better teacher.
His journey began with tabla before his elder sister introduced him to the sitar, sparking a devotion that would reshape his life. He sought formal training under sarod maestro Arnab Chakrabarty, who introduced him to sitar virtuoso Vinayak Chittar and scholar-vocalist Pandit Arijit Mahalanabis, a lineage of mentorship rooted in the deepest traditions of Indian classical music.
Trained as a neuroscientist, Kamal started his serious musical study later than most. Rather than a setback, this became his advantage. His scientific mind drove him to find the most efficient, intentional methods of practice, the same methods he now teaches his students. He didn't just learn raga music. He studied how people learn, and built his teaching around it.
Nilan Chaudhuri is a Bay Area based percussionist, educator, and performer. Initiated into the tradition of Indian Classical Music at the age of five by his father, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Nilan has been performing as a tabla soloist and accompanist for nearly two decades. Prior to beginning his formal training with his father in 2000, Nilan studied tabla with Brad Van Cleve, Tim Witter, and Uttam Chakraborty, all of whom are senior disciples of his father.
Drawing inspiration from his father’s innovative approach to classical tabla solo, Nilan was determined from a young age to be a soloist. He presented his first public tabla recital at the age of eleven, at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, in the presence of Maestro Ali Akbar Khansahib. It was during these formative years that Nilan was introduced to the world of Tabla accompaniment by Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, providing rhythmic support for his vocal and instrumental classes at the college.
----------------------------------------
Visual Art Exhibition:
BĀZ-TĀB (Reflection) by Sima Shahverdi
As part of A Season for Iran, we are honored to present BĀZ-TĀB—meaning reflection—an immersive installation rooted in the architectural memory of Iran. Through large scale charcoal hand-drawing, and paper sculpture, the work reconstructs the dreamlike fragments of places remembered: courtyards, domes, wind towers, and the intimate interiors of Iranian homes.
Centered around the symbolic courtyard and howz (pool), the audience is invited to gather inside a living memory-space shaped by longing, displacement, and return.
BĀZ-TĀB becomes not only an artwork, but a collective act of remembering the spaces, sounds, and emotions that continue to live within us across distance.
----------------------------------------
Read More:
Saturday, June 6th, 2026
7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
----------------------------------------
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
Saturday, June 6th, 2026 | 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Red Poppy Art House
MAPP (Mission Art Performance Project)
2698 Folsom @23rd
Curator: Dina Zarif
7:15 PM – 7:45 PM
Soundscapes (A Soulful Melodic Journey)
Eliot Valz - Solo guitar
8:00 PM – 8:45 PM
Esotérica Tropical (Puerto Rican Medicinal Songs)
María José Montijo - Harp & vocals
9:00 PM – 9:45 PM
Melodies of the Hindustani Tradition (Expressive Ragas)
Kamal Ahmad - Sitar
Nilan Chaudhuri - Tabla
Exhibition:
BĀZ-TĀB (Reflection) by Sima Shahverdi, a large-scale installation featuring charcoal drawings and paper sculpture, presented as part of A Season for Iran.
THIS IS A FREE EVENT
(Donation is encouraged)
Become a Patreon to Red Poppy!
https://www.patreon.com/RedPoppy
----------------------------------------
MAPP (Mission Arts & Performance Project)
Launched in 2003, the Mission Arts & Performance Project (MAPP) is a homegrown bi-monthly, multidisciplinary, intercultural event that takes place in the Mission District of San Francisco. On the first Saturday of every even month of the year, the MAPP transforms ordinary spaces, such as private garages, gardens, living rooms, studios, street corners, and small businesses into pop-up performance and exhibition sites for a day/night of intimate-scale artistic and cultural exchange among a kaleidoscope of individuals and communities.
We will continue our work in presenting unique artistry to the communities that we serve.
----------------------------------------
RED POPPY MAPP TEAM:
Artistic Director | Managing Director: Dina Zarif
Content manager: Jennie Legary
Sound crew: Andrew Scott
Host: Verda Bursal
----------------------------------------
ABOUT THE PERFORMING ARTISTS
Soundscapes (A Soulful Melodic Journey)
Eliot Valz - Solo guitar
Eliot Valz is a rising 11th -grade musician and performer at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts in San Francisco. He performs with Marcus Shelby’s Teen Jazz Band at CMC, Old Skool Cafe, and his rock band, Thorn. Thorn just released their new EP on Spotify, and they will be heading to the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, Idaho in March. Eliot’s musical development has been shaped through mentorship with artists including Marcus Shelby, Kyle Blaze, and Javi Madrigal. Eliot is eager to continue growing as a musician through collaboration with diverse artists in professional and creative music spaces. Follow him at @eliotvalzmusic for updates on his musical endeavors.
----------------------------------------
Esotérica Tropical (Puerto Rican Medicinal Songs)
María José Montijo - Harp & vocals
Esotérica Tropical transcends musical boundaries with her commanding voice, harp, and fusion of Bomba rhythms with electronic production. Her self-titled debut album
was named Best Bay Area Music of 2024 by KQED, KALW, and White Crate. Her work boldly challenges colonial mentality, advocating for sovereignty and surrealism. A chance encounter with a Celtic harp on a Puerto Rican beach in 2009 transformed her from an acupuncturist into a genre-defying musical magician. Drawing on 20 years as a traditional medicine practitioner, Esotérica’s ritualistic performances have captivated audiences at major venues and festivals worldwide including Brava Theater, The Chapel, MACLA, Oakland Museum of California, SOMArts, Teatro Municipal de Cusco, Festival Color Caribe, Teatro el Supremo, and el Fiestón Cultural del Instituto de Cultura de PR.
----------------------------------------
Melodies of the Hindustani Tradition (Expressive Ragas)
Kamal Ahmad - Sitar
Nilan Chaudhuri - Tabla
Kamal Ahmad's path to music wasn't conventional, and that's exactly what makes him a better teacher.
His journey began with tabla before his elder sister introduced him to the sitar, sparking a devotion that would reshape his life. He sought formal training under sarod maestro Arnab Chakrabarty, who introduced him to sitar virtuoso Vinayak Chittar and scholar-vocalist Pandit Arijit Mahalanabis, a lineage of mentorship rooted in the deepest traditions of Indian classical music.
Trained as a neuroscientist, Kamal started his serious musical study later than most. Rather than a setback, this became his advantage. His scientific mind drove him to find the most efficient, intentional methods of practice, the same methods he now teaches his students. He didn't just learn raga music. He studied how people learn, and built his teaching around it.
Nilan Chaudhuri is a Bay Area based percussionist, educator, and performer. Initiated into the tradition of Indian Classical Music at the age of five by his father, Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri, Nilan has been performing as a tabla soloist and accompanist for nearly two decades. Prior to beginning his formal training with his father in 2000, Nilan studied tabla with Brad Van Cleve, Tim Witter, and Uttam Chakraborty, all of whom are senior disciples of his father.
Drawing inspiration from his father’s innovative approach to classical tabla solo, Nilan was determined from a young age to be a soloist. He presented his first public tabla recital at the age of eleven, at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, in the presence of Maestro Ali Akbar Khansahib. It was during these formative years that Nilan was introduced to the world of Tabla accompaniment by Maestro Ali Akbar Khan, providing rhythmic support for his vocal and instrumental classes at the college.
----------------------------------------
Visual Art Exhibition:
BĀZ-TĀB (Reflection) by Sima Shahverdi
As part of A Season for Iran, we are honored to present BĀZ-TĀB—meaning reflection—an immersive installation rooted in the architectural memory of Iran. Through large scale charcoal hand-drawing, and paper sculpture, the work reconstructs the dreamlike fragments of places remembered: courtyards, domes, wind towers, and the intimate interiors of Iranian homes.
Centered around the symbolic courtyard and howz (pool), the audience is invited to gather inside a living memory-space shaped by longing, displacement, and return.
BĀZ-TĀB becomes not only an artwork, but a collective act of remembering the spaces, sounds, and emotions that continue to live within us across distance.
----------------------------------------
Read More:
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Where is it happening?
Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom St, San Francisco, CA 94110-3326, United States
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