The Queer Arabs Alia, Ellie, and Ahmed

Hello everyone!  Our love goes out to you all during this difficult time.  This episode features the wonderful Andrew who created a space for queer SWANA artists: nafs.space.  Andrew grew up in Denmark with his parents (who are from Egypt), and now lives in London.  In this episode, we discuss the importance of queer SWANA spaces, the lack of international awareness of the issue of racism in Denmark, the formulation of Nafs Space, and more.  In Arabic, “nafs” means the self, the ego, the soul.
Please visit the website, and follow @nafs.space on IG!
Thank you to Tania Safi for suggesting this episode.

We spoke to Layle and Kayan who run the online zine Zafaraan Collective!  Check out the website to see all of the issues:  https://www.zafaraan.org/
This space serves as a queer collective of SWANA art; please reach out to Kayan and Layle at za3cme@gmail.com if you’d like to submit a piece.  This is the email address with which to donate to their PayPal account as well.
Please follow them on their Facebook page  and @zafaraan_collective on Instagram.

Beruit-based writer, actress, and storyteller Dima Mkhayel Matta (Follow on IG: @dimamatta) joined Nadia Khayrallah (@nadiainherownworld) and Adam Elsayigh (@adamelsayigh) to talk about her recent solo show, her storytelling series Cliffhangers Storytelling, the challenges of navigating censorship and orientalist tropes, the importance of (queer) art in revolution, and more! She also reads a few excerpts of her piece “This is not a memorized script, this is a well-rehearsed story,” presented through Zoukak Theater Company and developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab.
Note: Unfortunately, Dima’s residency at Theater Mitu in Brooklyn, discussed in the podcast, has been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns. We hope to see this collaboration happen in the future!
Referenced in the episode: Every Single Article Ever Written About Being Gay in Beirut in One Convenient Article
Pictured is Dima wearing this iconic shirt from Nadia (as mentioned in the episode)!
This episode was recorded and edited by Nadia.

Ellie and Aldo discuss the geometry of a gender queer life, existing in traditionally masculine spaces and spill their gender fluids all over this episode.

 
IG :  amateurbadass

Salon Al-Mahjar صالون المهجر is an open mic for immigrant queer, trans, and allied artists, actors, activists, writers, storytellers, dancers, singers, musicians, poets, feminists, thinkers, teachers, and historians from Central & West Asia and North Africa.  Salon 8 was curated by Hannah Aliza Goldman and Sivan Battat.  They also presented pieces during the salon!

hannah-goldman.com
IG: @imhannahgoldman
PC: Jennifer Walkowiak

IG: @sivanbattat
PC: Daria Landa
Salon 8 description:
We gather to celebrate each other’s voices, exchange ideas, engage in each other’s passions, counteract censorship, promote and support each other, give and receive constructive feedback, and challenge what may be considered inappropriate “ayb” عيب or forbidden “haram” حرام.
At Salon 8 صالون we honor Jewish artists who create culture in Central & West Asia, North Africa, and in diaspora. We shall uplift Jewish voices, and allies who investigate shared histories. How did Jewish artists create culture in these regions and in diaspora? And how did the cultures around them shape their Jewishness? Please join us for a celebration of works-in-progress, food, tea, and conversation.
One of the pieces shown during this salon was a series of calligraphy pieces by Ruben Shimonov.  The pieces incorporated Hebrew and Arabic;  here are a few of the images from the piece!
See more of Ruben’s work here:  https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM-2S9nwEeevetO8XWymAAC2WqakROLOaKAbrr3iSyyPpg5IMyBR7RcxfxwiU-MUg?key=NVJYalZqcmN3cXF1a1hBYzVadlUxWFhrLVd1LWFn

Ora Batashvili presented a piece combining original video footage from Georgia, an original music composition, handmade paper, and items that are connected to and descriptive of Ora’s family.  To contact Ora:
IG: @ora.407

Playwright Michael Zalta presented two scenes from his play, “Who the Fuck is Ahmed?” – in this episode, you will hear part of one of the scenes.  To contact Michael:
IG: @michaelzalta

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sofia, aka @flowrpunkk, shared a few of their latest composed tracks.  Follow on IG!
Waseem Alzer was one of the actors in Michael Zalta’s reading; contact him at waseemalzer@gmail.com
Danny Bryck shared poetry; follow him on IG @dannythebryck

Adam Darko is back to talk to us about his new single, “White Desert” – check it out here!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=011fCciWlE0
On this episode, Adam talks about the meaning of this beautiful track and the technical aspects that went into creating this.  He tells us about the music collective of which he is a co-founder, the Coup d’etat collective (which is such a fitting name, for reasons discussed in the episode)!  We also get to hear Adam’s reflections on the changes that he has experienced over the past year.
Adam Darko is an Algerian trans artist and Youtube content creator ( check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEbvMiWT5sIAnwkqU9h0oAw )
Follow Adam on IG @theadamdarko; follow the music collective @coupdetatcollective.