Silk Road Rising

What Silk Road Rising does

Silk Road Rising, operating as Silk Road Cultural Center, is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit interdisciplinary arts organization founded in 2002 by Jamil Khoury and Malik Gillani. The organization commissions and produces live and digital artistic works — video plays, documentaries, animated shorts, and community stories — rooted in Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences and aimed at fostering cross-cultural understanding. Its foundational technology is the "video play" genre, which Silk Road coined in 2011, blending live theatre aesthetics with digital filmmaking for online distribution; the portfolio now spans titles including both/and, Multi Meets Poly, the Mosque Alert collection, Obstacle Course, Sacred Stages, Not Quite White, The Four Hijabs, The COVID Monologues, Black Teen Lives Matter, and the West Ridge Story Festival, alongside educational programs EPIC and Myths to Drama and the Evolve podcast produced by its wholly-owned think-and-create tank, the Polycultural Institute.

The organization is structured as the Gilloury Institute, with Silk Road Cultural Center as its primary doing-business-as name, and has been theatre-in-residence at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple since 2004. It is funded through a mix of tax-deductible individual donations (including the recurring Bridge Builder monthly giving program), foundation and corporate grants (Allstate, Field, Joyce, MacArthur), government arts agency support (NEA, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago DCASE), and gifts of appreciated stock facilitated through the United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference; all programming is offered free to audiences, and board members contribute $1,200 annually. Distribution is multi-channel: free streaming on silkroadculturalcenter.org, podcast platforms (Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Pocket Casts), community screenings, and curricular integration at partner schools and universities.

The organization serves diverse audiences including Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim communities; K-12 and higher-education institutions (Chicago Public Schools, Knox College, Tufts University, Valparaiso University, American University of Beirut); and community partners such as PFLAG and Al-Nour Mosque Hamburg. Since 2019, founding Executive Director Malik Gillani has been living with aphasia following a heart attack and stroke, and the organization has expanded programming around aphasia arts through the Aphasia Arts Forum. The organization rebranded from Silk Road Theatre Project to Silk Road Rising in 2022 while continuing operations under its DBA Silk Road Cultural Center.

Name

Silk Road Rising

Legal name

Gilloury Institute

Website

https://silkroadculturalcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Silk Road Rising (operating as Silk Road Cultural Center) is a Chicago-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization that commissions and produces video plays, documentaries, animated shorts, and educational programs serving Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim communities and partner schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts

NAICS

Performing Arts Companies (7111), Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Live-Action International/Co-Production & Service Production (MPADABAG), Cultural Heritage & Traditional Festivals (Folk, Ethnic, Indigenous) (MPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Performing arts
• Digital media production
• Arts education
• Community storytelling
• Cultural nonprofit programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Illinois City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations from individuals through the Bridge Builder monthly giving program, one-time gifts, and legacy/estate giving.
2. Foundation and Corporate Grants: Funding from foundations including Allstate Foundation, Field Foundation, Joyce Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, and corporate sponsors.
3. Government Arts Funding: Support from National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and Chicago DCASE.
4. Stock Gifts: Gifts of appreciated stock facilitated through United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Silk Road Rising (operating as Silk Road Cultural Center) commissions and produces live and digital artistic works rooted in Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences. Its core offerings are video plays, documentaries, animated shorts, and community stories that combine live theatre aesthetics with digital filmmaking, along with educational programs (EPIC and Myths to Drama) and the Polycultural Institute's Evolve podcast. Programming is distributed free to audiences through website streaming, podcast platforms, and partner-hosted live screenings.

Product overview

Silk Road Cultural Center is a Chicago-based interdisciplinary arts organization that produces digital media content, primarily video plays, documentaries, animated shorts, and community stories, all rooted in Pan-Asian, North African, and Muslim experiences. The core offerings include Video Plays (such as Obstacle Course, both/and, and Multi Meets Poly), Documentaries (including Sacred Stages and Not Quite White), Animated Shorts (The Four Hijabs), and Community Stories (Black Teen Lives Matter, West Ridge Story Festival, The COVID Monologues). The organization also operates the Polycultural Institute (producing the 'Evolve' podcast) and educational programs including EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course) and Myths to Drama. The portfolio centers cultural interchange and storytelling to foster cross-cultural understanding and empathy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Video Plays Digitally filmed theatrical productions that blend live theatre aesthetics with digital filmmaking technology, including works such as Obstacle Course, both/and, Multi Meets Poly: Multiculturalism and Polyculturalism Go on a First Date, The Mosque Alert Collection, The Balancing Arab, and The Imam and the Homosexual. Distributed free through website streaming and partner-hosted screenings for general audiences and educational institutions.
• Documentaries Documentary films that examine deeper meanings surrounding cultural, social, and political issues, often integrating dramatic scenes with academic interviews. Includes Sacred Stages: A Church, A Theatre, and A Story and Not Quite White: Arabs, Slavs, and the Contours of Contested Whiteness.
• Animated Shorts Animated short films that transform complex theoretical ideas into imaginative and engaging visual storytelling, including The Four Hijabs in both English and Arabic versions.
• Community Stories Short plays and monologues written by community participants and brought to life by professional actors, addressing local experiences and diversity. Includes Black Teen Lives Matter, West Ridge Story Festival, and The COVID Monologues.
• Polycultural Institute / Evolve Podcast Think-and-create tank that generates art and ideas advancing polyculturalism, producing the 'Evolve' podcast featuring spoken essays and conversations through a polycultural lens, distributed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and Pocket Casts.
• EPIC (Empathic Playwriting Intensive Course) Arts education program teaching playwriting to students and adults, including English Language Learners, transforming personal experiences into dramatic narratives. The program has generated works such as the Black Teen Lives Matter video series (2017-2021).
• Myths to Drama Arts education program bringing drama techniques to elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, designed to integrate cultural storytelling into K-12 curricula.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of thousands of global engagements with digital content
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• First United Methodist Church at the Chicago TemplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheatre-in-residence partnership since 2004 in Pierce Hall. The church provides free space and the organization enhances it with theatre equipment. A written agreement guarantees artistic freedom and organizational independence.
• United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois ConferencemajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFacilitates gifts of appreciated stock to the organization. Since 2017, has expedited nearly $1 million of appreciated stock at no cost to donors.
• Consortium of Asian American Theatres and Artists (CAATA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational alliance for Asian American theatres. Jamil Khoury serves on the Board of Directors.
• Joan Mitchell CentermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist-in-Residence program hosting Jamil Khoury in New Orleans.
• Knox CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaywright-in-Residence host and venue for multiple screenings and productions.
• Tufts UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaywright-in-Residence host and venue for video screenings and discussions.
• Benedictine UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaywright-in-Residence host for theatrical productions and screenings.
• North Central CollegemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaywright-in-Residence host for theatrical productions.
• Valparaiso UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlaywright-in-Residence host and venue for multiple video screenings and events.
• Asian Human ServicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for West Ridge Story Festival and Asian American services.
• About Face TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLGBTQ theatre company acknowledged in production credits.
• Dramatists GuildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional organization for playwrights supporting the organization's work.
• Say Gay PlaysminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJamil Khoury serves on the Advisory Board.
• NEIU (Northeastern Illinois University)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner for community programming.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• East West Players: America's premier Asian American theater company, founded in 1965 in Los Angeles. Directly comparable as a culturally specific Asian/Middle Eastern-American theater organization producing original work and developing new voices, though larger and more established.
• Ma-Yi Theater Company: New York-based Asian American theater company producing new works. Comparable as a peer in producing original plays by Asian American playwrights and developing cross-cultural narratives, with similar nonprofit funding model and educational programming.
• Pangea World Theater: Minneapolis-based Asian American theater producing work on diaspora, social justice, and cross-cultural themes. Highly comparable mission and organizational structure to Silk Road Rising, though smaller and Midwestern.
• The Civilians: Brooklyn-based investigative theater company producing original work exploring political, social, and cultural issues. Comparable in producing documentary-theater hybrids and using art for civic dialogue, though focused on U.S. issues rather than diaspora-specific themes.
• National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO): New York-based nonprofit producing works about the Asian American experience. Directly comparable as a peer theater organization producing original Asian American work, with similar funding model through foundations and government arts grants.

Emerging players

• About Face Theatre: Chicago-based LGBTQ theater company acknowledged in Silk Road's production credits. Comparable as a Chicago-area culturally specific theater, though focused specifically on LGBTQ+ narratives rather than pan-Asian/Middle Eastern themes.

Broad incumbents

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company: Chicago-based Tony-winning theater company. Comparable as a Chicago theater producing socially engaged original work, but far larger in scale and not focused on diaspora cultural specificity — serves as a model for what institutional scaling could look like.
• Goodman Theatre: One of Chicago's oldest and largest nonprofit theaters producing a broad repertoire. Comparable as a Chicago-based producing theater with foundation and government arts funding, though much larger in scale and operating its own venue.
• New York Theatre Workshop: Off-Broadway theater known for developing new experimental work (e.g., Rent, Hadestown). Comparable in producing experimental, culturally distinctive theatrical productions with a nonprofit funding model, though operating at a much larger scale.

Regional players

• Silk Road Ensemble: Yo-Yo Ma-founded musical collective focused on cross-cultural collaboration along historic Silk Road routes. Comparable in mission around Silk Road cultural interchange and diaspora representation, though focused on music rather than theater and film.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/silk_road
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SilkRoadCulturalCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/SilkRoadCulturalCtr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/silk-road-cultural-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/silk.road.cultural.center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Silk Road Rising