OUR STORY
The Mantua Enterprise for Community, Culture, and Artistry (MECCA) is the natural progression of Dr. Iquail Shaheed’s 30 years of commitment to use arts and activism for neighborhood good.
A Mantua native, Iquail’s dance career took him from Morton McMichael Elementary School to The Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts to stages around the world.
Iquail founded DANCE IQUAIL! in NYC in 2007, and in 2015, he brought the company home to Mantua. Through community festivals (Celebrate Mantua), youth programs (Mantua's Most Majestic), and workforce training in the arts, Iquail has dedicated his work in the arts to meeting the needs of his community.
Our programs activate civic engagement, neighborhood wellness, and economic
resilience. Through workforce development, mental health, or community celebrations, we support the conditions that allow Mantua to thrive.
Community
We honor and preserve the stories, traditions, and lived experiences that shape Mantua. Through storytelling, public activation, and cultural memory, we uplift what already lives in the community.
Culture
We invest in artists through training, mentorship, experimentation, and performance. From emerging talent to professional practice, we create space for creativity to grow and lead.
Artistry
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OUR VISION
We envision a world where Black communities are free to move with power, purpose, and joy.
In this world, dance is essential infrastructure. Art is a community right. And neighborhoods like
Mantua are celebrated as incubators of culture, creativity, and collective care.
MECCA imagines a future where the arts are central to public life and public policy—where the brilliance of Black expression is a catalyst for equitable economies, civic imagination, and social healing, locally and globally.
OUR MISSION
MECCA exists to be a liberatory force for community development, economic mobility, and cultural preservation in Mantua and beyond.
Through education, creation, performance, and organizing, MECCA nurtures the conditions for
artists, neighbors, and young people to thrive, transforming lives and landscapes through the
embodied power of Blackness, movement, and joy.
We don’t just make art. We make freedom feel possible through art and organizing, starting right here at home.
CURRENT PROGAMS
CELEBRATE MANTUA
Celebrate Mantua is an annual, free outdoor dance and community festival open in West Philadelphia. Hosted on Miles Mack Playground, Celebrate Mantua includes morning movement classes, drill team performances, youth showcases, and a main stage concert featuring professional dance companies. There’s a community dance party with line dances and giveaways, food trucks, local vendors, family activities, and more.
DANCE IQUAIL
DANCE IQUAIL! is a contemporary dance company of international renown, which shares Black and brown stories and culture both on stage and off. “My mission was to create a relevant company that would educate and empower dancers and the audience while also bringing a positive influence to inner-city youth through education and community initiatives.” - Dr. Shaheed
MANTUA'S MOST MAJESTIC
Mantua’s Most Majestic is a 50-week percussive dance program for up to 100 Mantua youth. The goal is to teach the value of personal excellence through the precision of movement, rhythm, and percussion. The creative process cultivates a host of life skills important for positive youth development.