Edition #72
Sep 22nd - Sep 29th, 2026
Ahla friends,
I am still dreaming about the first Menna Salon.
So many of you wrote in to say how special it felt. I want you to know it was even more than that on our side. I truly believe the rooms you choose to be in, shape who you become, and the Saturday crowd said something very loud just by being there.
To everyone who tried to get tickets after it sold out: I am sorry, and genuinely touched and rest assured that we will have more. Videos from the evening are coming soon so hopefully that will give you a glimpse of the night.
…and if you are someone building something this room should know about, reply to this email and just tell me
Now let’s get to it
Samar
THE SHORTLIST
The events worth your time
CINEMA
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (+ Q&A's)
◷ September 23 + 27th
Angelika Film Center, SoHo
Free
Director Bassam Tariq's drama stars Mahershala Ali as Latif, a religious hitman navigating faith, fatherhood, and grief across Houston after his wife dies. The cast includes Giancarlo Esposito, John Cho, Laith Nakli, and Abubakr Ali. Shown in 35mm. Thx Cinema Arabiyya.
Why I like it: Because Bassam Tariq directing Mahershala Ali.
COMEDY
Re-telling: Our Grandmothers Have Known (+ Q&A)
◷ Wednesday, September 23 | 7:00 PM
📍Anthology Film Archives, East Village
Free
Six short films on intergenerational memory and displacement, including a Palestinian grandmother navigating her hometown Haifa through Google Street View, and Valentin Noujaïm's essay about his grandmother recounting Cairo before exile. The program spans digital essays, pixelated meditations on the Nakba, and Cree teachings + a Q&A.
Why I like it: 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.
HISTORY
Boundaries of Belonging: Sectarianism and Statecraft in the Ottoman Empire
◷ Thursday, September 24 | 5–6:30 PM
📍NYU Center for the Humanities, EV
Free
A book launch with author Ayşe Baltacıoğlu-Brammer on how the Ottoman state navigated sectarianism, loyalty, and the management of non-Sunni communities, drawing on Ottoman, Persian, and European sources. Panelists include Alan Mikhail (Yale), Rudi Matthee (University of Delaware), and Subah Dayal (NYU).
Why I like it: the Ottoman empire is a big part of our history and I don’t think we know enough about it.
LITERATURE
Literary Fall: Imaginary Worlds
◷ September 25–26
📍Villa Albertine, Marble Room, UES
Free
A two-day French-American literary festival at Villa Albertine opening with Leïla Slimani in conversation with Jhumpa Lahiri about Slimani's new novel, described as "a provocative coming-of-age story about a young Arab woman's pursuit of sexual and political freedom." Saturday moves into speculative fiction, horror, and literary translation. All events in English.
Why I like it: Leïla is a force. She speaks so thoughtfully about many of the tensions within our communities, belonging vs. freedom, sexuality as a window into society, post-colonialism, and so much more. And Villa Albertine is beautiful. Both are so worth it.
MUSIC
Sufi Sessions NYC
◷ Saturday, September 26 | 6–9:30 PM
📍SILO Brooklyn, Williamsburg
$24
An intentional listening experience led by Omar, drawing on Sufi philosophy and devotional music from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Lush instruments, deep percussion, spiritual vocals. The focus is presence, with yourself and with the room
Why I like it: Devotional music done with intention in a good space, that can potentially restore something in us this week.
MULTI-CATEGORY
Freedom Frames World Premiere. Ep. 1 Screening + DJ Party + Community Celebration.
◷ Tuesday, September 29 | 7:00 PM
📍Lovejoys, Brooklyn
$15–$50
Iranian-American filmmaker Ava Yaghmaie launches Freedom Frames, a docuseries about immigrant joy in New York City. The first episode follows Yeldā Ali, an Afghan DJ, mother, and artist in NYC, exploring her relationship to identity, artistry, and freedom. Red carpet, screening , Q&A then DJ sets.
Why I like it: love both the topic but also the way Yaghmaie is activating this story using so many mediums: film, talk, music and community, brilliant.
THE EXPERIMENTAL ONE
We’re mixing things up this week
THEATER
We'll Jump Off That Bridge When We Get There
◷ Friday, September 25 | 7:00 PM
📍Target Margin Theater, Sunset Park
$20
A theatrical production at Target Margin Theater moving through judicial dysfunction, Palestinian genocide, contemporary racial violence, and land seizure, asking how people hold connection inside systems designed to divide them. History, pop culture, and current news in the same room
Why I like it: an attempt to find ways for us to hold it together and keep going using + the combination of history, pop culture and news is hard to pull off and worth seeing when someone tries.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHT
Project and initiatives to support
Morocco, Iran & Sudan at The Armory Show
The Armory Show runs September 25-27 at the Javits Center. The curated program this year centers on Caribbean artists, so SWANA presence is gallery-driven. Here is where to find it.
The main story is at Vigo Gallery's booth: two Sudanese artists from entirely different generations sharing the same presentation. Ibrahim El-Salahi, born 1930 in Omdurman, is a founding figure of the Khartoum School, fusing Islamic calligraphy, West African visual traditions, and Western modernism. Tate Modern held his retrospective in 2013 and acquired 31 works from his "Behind the Mask" series earlier this year. He is 96. Alongside him: Dina Nur Satti, born 1987, Brooklyn-based, a ceramic sculptor whose coil-built vessels draw on Nubian pre-colonial traditions and the Kerma civilization. Her work is in the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian.
Also at the fair: Iranian artist Kamyar Bineshtarigh has a monumental "Intifada" painting over nine feet wide at Southern Guild's booth, alongside Moroccan artist Amine El Gotaibi's installation in Corten steel and sheep's wool.
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— Menna curates cultural content and events for informational purposes only. Event details are subject to change—
