The Bitter Taste of Milk and Honey:

A Film Screening and Artist-led Conversation with Joel Mulindwa

To mark the close of Joel Mulindwa’s exhibition Impressions of Gratuity Black Rock Arts is excited to host a screening of Joel’s experimental short film CA-NA-NA, followed by a conversation with the artist, on Saturday, November 21, at 3PM.

CA-NA-NA explores displacement, memory, faith, and the complexities of the immigrant experience. Through an intimate conversation with his mother, Joel revisits her experiences of the Congolese civil war, the loss of loved ones, and the difficult act of forgiveness.

The film takes its title from a song sung by a Congolese refugee community in Kampala, Uganda, where the biblical land of Canaan became a metaphor for the hope of resettlement in America. Weaving together personal testimony, song, and poetic imagery, CA-NA-NA reflects on the promises of migration and the complicated realities of reaching a place once imagined as a land flowing with milk and honey.

Joel’s talk draw on his recent essay, The Bitter Taste of Milk and Honey, which illuminates the connections between CA-NA-NA and his broader artistic practice, in particular his series Impressions of Gratuity and Finding Rest.

Black Rock Arts will open at noon for this final day of Impressions of Gratuity.

CA-NA-NA screens at 3PM followed immediately by the artist’s talk.

Light refreshments will be served. This event is free and open to all.