Art & Culture
Art & Culture
The Arab American National Museum gears up for upcoming virtual music festival, JAM3A
September 9th, 20210 DEARBORN — The Arab American National Museum (AANM) is drawing closer to the much anticipated lineup for JAM3A , a four-day virtual music festival on September 23-26, celebrating Arab talent, community and identity. The eclectic lineup includes audience favorites as well as names new to the AANM (virtual) stage, including...
Dearborn artist Danya Zituni selected as WDET’s “Artist Next Door” fellow
August 19th, 20210 DEARBORN — Danya Zituni, a Dearborn-based Arab American artist, is one of six artists awarded a stipend in WDET's "Artist Next Door" project. WDET's website says the project highlights artists whose work "gives us a greater understanding of their cultural heritage and bring us closer as a region of neighbors." Zituni, a...
The fresh debut of INDKNA, experimental Yemeni and Yemeni American band, for Pride Month
July 1st, 20210 DEARBORN — INDKNA, a refreshingly new music band of Yemeni and Yemeni American immigrant women and gender-nonconforming artists, kicked off a virtual debut at the Arab American National Museum’s virtual Pride Concert + Talk Back event. Closing out Pride Month, the museum and YallaPunk collaborated this year for the first time to...
“Behind the scenes” documentary on Hamtramck politics premieres on WORLD Channel May 25
May 19th, 20210 HAMTRAMCK — The city of Hamtramck, known to be the nation’s first Muslim-majority city, is the subject of a documentary set to makes its broadcast premiere on the WORLD Channel (formerly PBS WORLD) on Tuesday, May 25. A synopsis for the documentary, titled Hamtramck, USA, says it "goes behind the scenes of small-town politics,"...
Canadian comedy duo talk “first Arab superhero” sketch
May 2nd, 20210 TORONTO — When Arab Canadian duo Rob Michaels and Fady Ghali noticed a lack of representation of Arabs in the superhero films, they decided to do what they do best: Create a comedic sketch. Michaels and Ghali have been creating amusing sketches for their Wishful Genies YouTube and social media pages for adoring audiences for...
Allied Media Projects to continue arts, liberation, justice work at new LOVE Building
April 8th, 20210 DETROIT — Allied Media Projects (AMP), a renowned Detroit organization that has strong ties with the region’s Arab arts and activism community, is gearing up to transition to a new collaborative space in the city. AMP is best described as a network of people and projects that utilize media-based organizing towards it’s goal of...
In Geiger, Geoff Johns pens another Arab character into the comics world
April 6th, 20210 There’s no doubt, comic book fans are well aware of Geoff Johns' illustrious career. Whether writing for some of the DC Comics' most iconic series, being the creative force behind some of the company’s biggest movie hits or serving in various executive capacities, Johns’ time in the industry is nothing short of...
Fearing the Palestinian narrative: Why Israel banned “Jenin Jenin”
January 21st, 20210 On Jan. 11, the Israeli Lod District Court ruled against a Palestinian film-maker, Mahmoud Bakri, ordering him to pay hefty compensation to an Israeli soldier who was accused, along with the Israeli military, of carrying out war crimes in April 2002, in the Palestinian Jenin refugee camp located in the northern occupied West Bank. The...
Arab America: Preserving the Arabic language and culture
January 12th, 20210 DEARBORN — Friday, December 18 marked the celebration of Arabic Language Day, a day that honors a language spoken by more than 300 million people worldwide. World Arabic Language Day was established by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2010 to celebrate multilingualism and cultural...
MCCFAD and Arab Xpressions present skit on the word ‘kharaf’ and stigmas around dementia
October 17th, 20200 DEARBORN — The Michigan Center for Contextual Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease has teamed up with Arab Xpressions at the University of Michigan (U of M) to bring a unique skit that explores how a medical word for dementia is often misused in the Arab community. The skit premiered Friday, Oct. 9 as part of a MCCFAD community event...
Opportunity for artists to show work at Paris Peace Forum, win trip to TED Doha
October 9th, 20200 DOHA, QATAR - Artists are being invited to submit works around the theme of human resilience in the face of crisis to a new digital art contest and online exhibition organized by Qatar Foundation and Qatar Museums as part of Qatar France 2020 Year of Culture, to be hosted at the Paris Peace Forum. The newly launched initiative is...
Julia Yezbick explores the uncertainty of belonging, identity in “Marratein, Marratein”
August 19th, 20200 DETROIT — The ART X Detroit (AXD) festival, a twice-yearly festival showcasing works from Kresge Foundation fellows conducting projects in Detroit, Highland Park and Hamtramck, celebrated those works in a virtual celebration on Wednesday evening. AXD organizers say the 22 commissioned pieces showcased this year reflect on “the...
Four U.S. Reps, including Tlaib and Dingell, introduce Arab American Heritage Month resolution
May 2nd, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-New Jersey), Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), Donna Shalala (D-Florida) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) introduced a resolution honoring Arab American Heritage Month this past Thursday, recognizing the many contributions Arab Americans have made to the United States. “As a strong and...
Sellout crowd celebrates culture, heritage of all 22 Arab countries at Arab Xpressions event in Ann Arbor
February 29th, 20200 ANN ARBOR — Nearly 1,400 students, faculty and community members attended the 2020 edition of Arab Xpressions on Saturday, February 15, at the Power Center for the Performing Arts here, supporting the University of Michigan's annual showcase of Arabic culture. The event, organized by the Arab Student Association, featured a wide...
Metro Detroit Chaldeans make history with first museum in the world to preserve their heritage
January 26th, 20200 WEST BLOOMFIELD — While the Metro Detroit area is known nationally for its large Arab American population and its rich history, the region also is home to more than 160,000 Chaldeans according to the Chaldean Community Foundation. Chaldeans are an ethnic group from Iraq that traces their roots back more than 5,000 years to ancient......
Egyptian American actor Ramy Youssef wins first major film award of 2020
January 10th, 20200 BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Egyptian American actor Ramy Youssef took home the first major film award of 2020 this past Sunday, winning the Golden Globe award for best actor in a comedy TV series for his role in "Ramy", a comedy-drama that premiered on Hulu in 2019. Youssef, who plays the eponymous character, also served as its co-creator...
Marvel Comics to debut new Arab American superhero from Dearborn in March
December 31st, 20190 DEARBORN — A new Arab American superhero named Amulet (AKA Fadi Fadlallah) is expected to debut in March, bringing diversity and intrigue to the country's most famous line of comics. The character, who is set to make his debut in the 13th issue of Magnificent Ms. Marvel is the creation of the book's current author Saladin Ahmed and...
Arab American poet’s first book relates how she survived domestic violence
November 14th, 20190 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Sara Raad, an Arab American poet from Dearborn Heights, released last week her first book, “My squeak. My Shout. My Roar.” The book is a three-part chronicle of her experience with domestic violence. “Anyone who has been in an abusive relationship could relate to the book,” Raad told The Arab American...
Five movies given “outdated cultural depiction” warning on new Disney+ service; “Aladdin” not one of them
November 14th, 20190 The new Disney+ streaming service officially launched on Tuesday, November 12, with popular animated movies such as the original “Aladdin”, “Bambi”, “Dumbo” and “Cinderella” among the titles included. The service racked up more than 10 million subscribers on its opening day alone, and estimates it will have between 60......
Dearborn based poet finds beauty in ruin in her poem “Thawra: a whatsapp message gone viral”
November 9th, 20190 DEARBORN —As the Lebanon protesters clash against elite institutions and moneyed influence in their country, local Lebanese expats have come together to bring fresh perspectives on the political storm unleashed across their homeland. Many have gathered in Dearborn’s most recognizable institutions, with its municipal buildings...
Museum exhibit “History is Not Here: Art and the Arab Imaginary” celebrates diversity of Arab culture
October 6th, 20190 MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Arab World consists of 22 different countries and boasts far more diversity of viewpoints, opinions, ethnicities and other aspects than it is often given credit for in the media, especially in the world of art. Now, a new fall exhibition at the Minnesota Museum of American Art is hoping to showcase aspects of......
Egyptian American artist uses digital medium to represent her spiritual journey
October 6th, 20190 Rowaida Omar, a 22-year-old Egyptian American artist, draws digital sketches she says are a reflection of what she sees in her life and surroundings. She said she’s been drawing since she was a young child. As she grew up, she turned to a digital medium for convenience of use and sharing her art online. “It just kind of grew...
New podcast from local journalist takes on Arab American cultural taboos, including “Dating While Arab”
September 29th, 20191 DETROIT — Arab American life is full of taboos surrounding issues including cultural and religious traditions, marriage, dating and more, but increased media coverage and social media alike have both helped to “lift the veil” on these topics in recent years. Zahra Huber, a 35-year-old Iraqi American journalist who grew up in New......
