KHABAR KESLAN

In this interview, Arpi Adamyan discusses her new piece The City of Dove Women, her experience with multimedia art, and her involvement in queer activism. Please join us for the opening reception on October 3, between 5pm-12am.

by Suzana Poghosyan,

In this interview, Suzana Poghosyan and Araz Farra discuss their creative process, relationships to home, and diaspora privilege.

by Knar Hovakimyan,

"Time flows in cycles for her. And cycles within cycles. The yearly visit to the grave was always a reminder of a reset; she was back at a road already littered with her own footsteps."

by Arpi Atabekyan

"And that is what a truly good feminist writing stands for and reminds of—that we are all together in our victories and failures, in our struggles and despair."

by Knar Hovakimyan:

"For this particular series, I have been lost in a confusing nostalgia for a familiar but forgotten history."

by Mariam Elba

Sha'abi music disavows a unitary Egypt.

by Iman Abbaro:

The Locals series was captured in the Egyptian market, Khan-el Khalili in January 2017.

by Yousif Kalian

Towards a Moslawi archive

by Omar Alhashani and Yousif Kalian:

The Hashd a-Shabi brand themselves as united to tap into multiple populisms - local and global.

by Yousif Kalian 

by Bergen Hendrickson,

"Al-Ghoussein’s most recent body of work documenting the derelict Al-Sawaber complex suggests a more subdued, tender continuation of his continued exploration of the space and poetry of a relation to ‘home’ that remains elusive."

by Ahmed Alrefaie,

Bringing modern and traditional culture together

by Sarah al-Mutairi:

"We drive down to my grandmother’s home in Jahra, Kuwait. Always dressed in our best for Eid day, like a scavenger hunt for greetings, we make our way around the neighborhood and wish our extended families a happy Eid..."

by Lizzy Vartanian Collier,

The struggle of the LGBTQ+ representation in Middle Eastern art might phase Alireza Shojaian—but it doesn’t stop him.

by Sofia Elian

"Boobies... That's all."

by Omar Alhashani

Haven for Artists is based on cooperation—not competition.

by Nour Hifaoui Fakhoury

In a violent society, anxiety rules our core of being.

by Ceem Haidar

Omar Rahbany’s latest album embodies the chaos of identity.

by Yasmine

A fusion of Lebanese politics and eclectic beats.

by Raie H. Thira: 

"With a swift exhale, I pushed out the relief, anxiety, and fear..."

by Fala Urfali:

"We have every right to live as we choose, but always remember the environment and culture that raised you, HELP IT, because in many ways it helped you."

by Farrah Fray & Ahmed Drebika,

I remember my brother used to climb onto the roof / Whenever the satellite wasn’t working

by Farrah Fray:

"June and July were Libya’s most beautiful daughters..."

by Marcus Hibbeln

While ‘inclusive’ to a certain extent, the state-sponsored brand of Islam in Morocco has often been an exclusionary national force that has monopolized the interpretation of Islam and alienated large groups of citizens.

by Amina Soulimani,

A colonial hand fed me, or so I thought, as they spelled the words/for my illiterate granny

by Lil Freeky

Our first mix, exclusively featuring underground rap from Morocco.

by Bayan Abdullateef

At around the age of twelve, one of my teachers said to me:  “A girl’s honor is like a matchstick.”

by Shoug Sagur

Why is it so weird for me to walk these streets? Why does every foreign person who passes by me look surprised that I’m here?

by Lina Fansa,

“Well, I’m in no-man’s land, and without a man…”

by Azmi Haroun,

Khabar Keslan presents six interviews with the curators and artists of the NYC-based exhibition Before We Were Banned alongside this review.

with Kinan Azmeh, by Azmi Haroun,

"I grew up playing Mozart. And for me, Mozart was Syrian too. I have listened to it here and in Syria, and I played it in Syria. It's equally Syrian."

by Raphael Cormack,

Spiritualism in the Arabic-speaking world claimed to be scientific, progressive, and modern.

by Linnea Bennett,

Folk songs share a stage, but can they build a bridge?

by Adnan Samman,

Lebanon's beauty lies in its layers of contradiction

with Mohammad Zaza,

All the elements of creation, both natural and technological, are already expressed in the universe

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by Lizzy Vartanian Collier,

Steeped in themes of loss, Syrian art continues to grow

by Hamza Bilbeisi,

"You escaped a war but I just, escaped an air-conditioned home..."

by Arpi Atabekyan

"And that is what a truly good feminist writing stands for and reminds of—that we are all together in our victories and failures, in our struggles and despair."

by Ali DN

"The help of friends, respect for their tradition, and a smile on one’s face makes it possible to help this old and precious heritage survive."

by Linnea Bennett,

Folk songs share a stage, but can they build a bridge?

by Dilan Arslan

I am a Zaza Kurd, and my ancestors have lived in this village in Sivas, Turkey for hundreds of years. 

by Ali DN: 

Turkish television calls on a mythical past to shape a new national identity.

by Oya Aktas

Beneath Erdogan’s sweeping press censorship lies a rich history of print culture’s flourishing in a diverse Turkey.