MASI
MASI 2026: Come for the Glamour. Stay for the Revolution.
What if the people who hold our communities together were the people we recognized and saw as leaders?
Join us at Boston City Hall Plaza on November 6 for a free celebration of performance, Diwali, immigrant storytelling, queer and trans creativity, and collective possibility.
MASI brings artists, cultural workers, organizers, and community members from across the United States together to question the systems that determine who is seen as credible, legitimate, and worthy of leadership. Through art and storytelling, we explore how these systems become internalized surveillance: the ways we learn to monitor ourselves and judge one another against narrow expectations of gender, immigration status, and success. Together, we create space to unlearn those expectations and imagine new possibilities.
Come for the performances, discover stories that move you, and meet people reimagining how we lead, care, and belong.
Expect an evening of:
Live music, drag, and Desi performances celebrating creative expression across cultures.
Diwali festivities inviting us to gather in light, joy, and possibility.
Free henna art during the first hour of the event.
A queer Nikkah celebration exploring love, chosen family, and belonging.
Immigrant stories and community recognition honoring people whose contributions deserve to be seen.
Art, fashion, and connection with artists, advocates, neighbors, and new friends.
At its heart, MASI is a grassroots initiative using arts and storytelling to reimagine leadership and challenge the social and digital injustices affecting low-income, gender-diverse, and immigrant communities. This gathering is an invitation to experience that vision together.
Your invitation to dress up: What would you wear if you ran this city? Bring your interpretation: bold, traditional, glamorous, experimental, or simply come as you are.
Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend, your chosen family, or your curiosity.
📍 Boston City Hall Plaza
📅 Friday, November 6, 2026
🎟️ Free and open to the public: reserve your spot here.
Produced by Intersectional Innovation and Impact Labs (III Labs) and Muhammad Burhan.
Questions or accessibility requests? Contact Production@iiiLabs.org.