Ahla friends,
I have been over the moon since the moment tickets for the first menna event started moving. We have an incredible team and programming waiting for you. I have always loved hosting and the mechanics of it (very original trait for a SWANA woman, I know). But this one feels like it’s for something larger than just a good evening.
So does what Dahlia Saada is doing.
Dahlia is a Palestinian high school student in New York who stood at a school assembly and read "If I Must Die" by Refaat Al-Areer. The district responded by sending an email to parents calling the poem inappropriate. That same district said nothing when another student publicly ripped and spat on a Palestinian flag he had received at a school cultural festival. So now Dahlia and her dad are suing the school district. She is already choosing larger.
Samar
THE SHORTLIST
The Ones Worth Your Time
WORKSHOP
Bodies in Bloom: A Life Drawing Event
Thursday, September 10 | 7–10 PM
Studio Sabek, Crown Heights
Seeds of Liberation is hosting a self-directed figure drawing session and the combination of art and community was enough for me. Bring your own materials or grab some at the door for $5. Pastels, charcoal, ink, clay, all welcome.
COMEDY
Yesh Malik: Hummusexual
Thursday, September 10 | 7:30–9 PM
Club Cumming, East Village
Iraqi-Assyrian comedian Yesh Malik performs Hummusexual: a one-hour set about growing up gay and Iraqi-Assyrian…should be interesting :) The title, the venue, the identity work happening inside this show…I say yes.
PARTY
Laylit - 8 Year Anniversary
Saturday, September 12 | 5 PM – 4 AM
Elsewhere, Bushwick
Eight years of Laylit. Elyanna will be their guest star! Huda Bistrot will provide hotdogs… and the community will bring the celebration.
COMEDY
Emil Wakim
Saturday, September 12 | 7:30 PM
Union Hall, Park Slope
Emil Wakim made history this year as the first Lebanese-American cast member of Saturday Night Live. He's bringing his stand-up to Union Hall in Park Slope, fresh voice, fresh humor.
CINEMA
Traces of Home (+ Q&A)
September 16 & 24
Angelika Film Center, SoHo
Colette Ghunim's debut documentary follows her parents back to the childhood homes they were forced to flee, one in Mexico, one in Palestine. I heard only great things about this movie and it just got backed by Gabor Mate as a producer.
THE FREE ONE
Free and Delightful
LITERATURE -ART
Reptiles Have Feelings, Too - Zine Launch
Thursday, September 10 | 7:30–10 PM
Sunview Luncheonette, Williamsburg
Dahlia Dandashi, artist and photographer is launching her debut zine. Should be a cute event. Spots are limited, you know NYC spaces.
PROJECT HIGHTLIGHT
Did you see this?
Four SWANA artists still at The Whitney Biennale
The 82nd Whitney Biennial opened in March with 56 artists and a clear premise: curators Marcela Guerrero and Drew Sawyer selected work from artists in places shaped by US geopolitical reach. That framing, stated upfront, made this edition feel different from the start. And for the first time in a while, the SWANA presence in the show was not incidental. Five artists across the floors.
Here is the practical part, because the show runs in stages and some of it has already closed. Floor 5 came down Aug 23. Floor 1 closed Sep 7. As of now, only Floor 6 remains, and it stays open through October 12. So the clock is running.
This is who you can still:
Next menna salon
Sat Sep the 19th, 6-8pm
Jinn Flickers Through History
Where your kind of people hang out
beauty . people . art . discovery . in one setting
What we’re working on:
The menna Meetup App
We are building a free space to bring SWANA New Yorkers together based on their interest and lifestyles, to find each other, show up for each other, and turn a scattered diaspora into an actual community. No algorithm picking who you meet. No gatekeepers. Just our people, in one app.
We're building it now, with your support. Cause if we don't do it for ourselves no one will do it for us.
Join the waitlist →
and be the first to meet your people
Support the project →
and make sure this will be brought to life
Get Closer To Your Community
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— Menna curates cultural content and events for informational purposes only. Event details are subject to change—
