May 2025 - Part 1

Spring has sprung—and we’re celebrating with a giveaway

April 24, 2025

Hi El Habibis,

A huge thank you for subscribing and checking out our very first edition — we hope it sparked some fun new adventures! we’re giving away 3 free tickets to an event of your choice 🎉 Check out the details at the end of this newsletter — you won’t want to miss it!

From here on, you can expect our newsletter to land in your inbox during the third week of each month — perfect for getting a jump on next month’s plans. We’ve packed in a bunch of great highlights, listed by date, with an additional list of events at the bottom of the email (we're working around Gmail’s size limits)

Let’s keep the cultural momentum going — here’s what’s on the horizon!

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MUSIC PERFORMANCE
NY Arabic Chorus 

May 1st, 7-8:30pm
Brooklyn Heights

Under the direction of Mona Miari, the choir will bring together voices from diverse backgrounds to create an unforgettable experience that bridges cultures and celebrates unity through music.

Tickets $25 Advance ($30 Door)

Mona Miari

DANCE PERFORMANCE
Performing Histories

May 1-4 at 8pm
La MAMA - East Village

This performance series expands our understanding of contemporary Arab performance today by looking at radical and underground histories of choreography, poetry, writing, music and visual art from Joyce Mansour to Etel Adnan, through the music of Halim ElDabh, or contemporary experimentalists including choreographers Sarah Brahim and Nadia Khayrallah, and poet-performance artist Andrew Riad.

Tickets at $30

CONVERSATIONS
From Hawaii To Palestine

May 2d at 6-8pm
NYU - Greenwich Village

This discussion is part of our year-long programming theme, “Asian/Pacific/American Prospects,” with which we ask how A/P/A perspectives might provide compelling modes for confronting the many, proliferating crises of concern to our communities and imagining futures beyond them.

Free event. RSVP here

ART EXHIBIT
Pilgrimage To Ancient Egypt

May 4th from 10-12:30pm
The MET, UES

A special event, an intimate tour for 6-1guests by The Met global ritual expert Barbara Biziou. The Met has an extensive ancient Egypt collection and this tour will be more of a spiritual pilgrimage than a paleontological one with focus on the effect that the objects in the Egyptian collection have on your body and spirit.

Tickets at $95

Metropolitan Museum of Art

CONVERSATIONS
Gabor Mate & Chris Hedges: Palestine, The Moral Issue Of Our Time

Mon May 5th at 7pm
Upper West Side

Dr. Gabor Maté is a celebrated physician and author whose work delves into the intricate links between childhood development, trauma, and illness. Born in Hungary during the Holocaust, Maté’s own early experiences of trauma as a jew deeply inform his understanding of human suffering and healing.

Chris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, author, and former war correspondent known for his fierce critiques of empire, capitalism, and institutional power. His work blends moral clarity with deep historical insight, challenging the narratives of mainstream media.

Tickets from $55

Gabor Mate

BOOK TOUR
MO Amer Live

May 9th and 10th
Town Hall NYC-Time Square

Mo doesn’t need any introduction. Two days! we are spoiled!

Tickets from $60

Mo Amer

MOVIE PREMIERE
Everybody Loves Touda by Nabil Ayoush

Mon May 12 at 8:30pm (102min)
Film at Lincoln Center-EBM

Irrepressible Touda dreams of only one thing—being a Sheikha, a respected traditional Moroccan performer. Empowered by the songs of resistance and emancipation of the fierce female poets who came before her, she takes the stage every evening in provincial bars.

Tickets at $19

Everybody Loves tOUDA

POETRY NIGHT
Poems of Consumption By H.Sinno

Wed May 14th at 7:30pm
National Sawdust - Williamsburg

Poems of Consumption turns Amazon customer reviews into “pop songs” written, composed, arranged, and produced by H.Sinno (from Mashrou’ Leila) and their collaborators. The harsh electronica and lush string quartet are accompanied by video work by Sinno and Matteo Zamagni which further saturates the performance with a relentless barrage of phantasmagorical visuals.

Tickets at $45

CLASSICAL MUSIC & POETRY
Faraj Abyad: My Damascus

Thur May 15th at 7pm
The Met 5th Av, UES

Over the last decade, Syrian composer Faraj Abyad has redefined classical Arabic music, fusing Arabic poetry past and present with his own signature style. Join Abyad and his orchestra for a moving evening of new works that weave Syrian folkloric repertoire (Qudud Halabiyya) with novel compositions highlighting themes of love, co-existence, and longing for home.

Tickets from $35

Faraj Abyad

CULTURAL WORKSHOP
Grandmothers as Stewards and Curators

Fri May 16th at 7pm
Storm-Greenpoint

This workshop will explore the unique role of grandmothers as curators of family histories, wisdom, and legacies.
Guests are invited to bring their memories and stories to share about your grandmother. The group will reflect on the lessons and values grandmothers have passed down, and how they continue to shape our lives today.

Tickets at $5

MOVIE SCREENINGS & LECTURE
Cinematic Spaces Of Exception By Ali Jaber

May 18-30th at 7pm
Cafe Barzakh. Crown Heights

Screening of four movies and a lecture under the theme of “Spectral Law, Bio-politics and Spatiality of Sovereignty”. this selection was curated by Ali Jaber is a PhD researcher in philosophy and film studies and a university professor. He specializes in French philosopher Jacques Derrida and focuses on extending Derrida’s deconstruction to the study of Lebanese post-war film.

Free event. More info and RSVP here

Ali Jaber

BOOK LAUNCH
What Will People Think By Sarah Hamdan

Mon May 20th, 6:30-8pm
Nolita

I have to say that the title got me. This book has been described as “a funny, heartfelt coming-of-age story centered around one woman's secret comedy career, forbidden office crush, and long-guarded family secret”

Along with a discussion and audience Q&A, Sara will also sign copies.

Tickets at $7, book bundle $35

Sarah Hamdan

MUSIC CONCERT
NY Andalus Ensemble - “Ya’alet Hen”

Wed May 21st at 7:30pm
West Village

For five hundred years, Christians, Jews, and Muslims lived side by side in medieval Iberia, sharing their arts and sciences to create a scintillating, multicultural tradition of music and poetry. Singing in Arabic, Hebrew, and Ladino to reflect this cultural pluralism, the NY Andalus Ensemble presents spiritual texts and songs of love and everyday life in Al-Andalus, emphasizing the shared traditions of the region.

Tickets at $24

NY Andalus Ensemble

MUSIC FESTIVAL
NY Oud Festival

May 21st-31st
Manhattan/Brooklyn

This is a multi-day, multi-venue, multi-artists music festival that displays the oud and its versatility as it exists in New York's diverse musical culture. The NYOF celebrates the oud and its wide-ranging influence on global music culture, showcasing artists from a multitude of traditions and contexts, and demonstrating why the oud continues to be one of the world's most beloved instruments.

CELEBRATORY MARKET
From Beirut With Love

Sat May 31st, 12-6pm
Brooklyn Heights

From Beirut With Love, a one-day market celebrating the soul of Lebanese creativity in NYC

Indulge in the flavors, sounds, and stories of Lebanon through food, music, art, fashion, and handmade treasures straight from the heart of the community all in one space.

ANIMATED COMEDY
#1 Happy Family USA

Prime Video

The 'Ramy' creator (Ramy Youssef) and 'South Park' veteran Pam Brady's series looks at a Muslim American family's experience with assimilation, code-switching and xenophobia. A fresh, clever animated comedy show in the aftermath of 09/11.

MORE EVENTS:

SCREENING
No Other Land - April 27 and 29
Technically this is happening end of April but this is an important documentary and I’m not sure we will have more screenings in the future. For those of you who weren’t able to attend BAM or Film Forum, there are two night screenings in late April at The Anthology Film Archives and Arab Socials. Tickets at $37 (AFA). Tickets at $40 (Arab Socials)

SHOWCASE
Arab Women In The Art - May 3-12th
This is an annual showcase to honor generations of Arab women who have excelled in and revolutionized all forms of artistic expression. This year’s event will highlight identity and our connections to our home or homeland through themes such as food, sustenance, soil and the concept of self reliance, with a focus on Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan. Tickets and info

CONVERSATION
Writing As Resistance - May 3d at 3pm
Join Uyghur poet and memoirist Tahir Izgil Hamut (Waiting to Be Arrested at Night), Iraqi American poet Dunya Mikhail (Tablets: Secrets of the Clay), and Palestinian American novelist Etaf Rum (Evil Eye) as they discuss how their writing challenges dominant political narratives and preserves stories of displacement, exile and perseverance. Free event. RSVP here

DESERT MAKING CLASS
Knafeh Masterclass- May 18th 2-4pm
Sarah will be in conversation with Hannah Bae, with featured readings by Kamelya Omayma Youssef, Ghinwa Jawhari, H. Sinno, and Ladan Khoddam-Khorasani.
Tickets

ART EXHBIT
Noonochai Art Exhibit - May 31st
Noonochai is a multidisciplinary artist born in Tehran and now based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work explores the intersection of form, emotion, and experimentation. Working across a range of mediums, she pushes the boundaries of creative expression, inviting curiosity and dialogue. Music by Mari Posa. Tickets at $23

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