Chinese artist calls on Arab world’s richest country to take in Syrian refugees
April 21st, 20170 DOHA, Qatar — Chinese artist Ai Weiwei called on wealthy Gulf Arab states to take in more Syrians displaced by six years of civil war, saying the surge of refugees fleeing conflict in the Middle East was a "test for humanity." Ai, often described as China's most high-profile artist and dissident, has won acclaim for artwork...
Literary journal ‘Mizna’ proves Arab art is timely and alive
April 21st, 20170 TWIN CITIES, MN — Since its inception in 1999, the literary journal Mizna has been a platform for the arts and free expression of a multitude of writers and artists from an Arab and Arab American nexus. The journal, published by Mizna.org, a non-profit arts organization that promotes contemporary expressions of Arab American...
Sesame Street welcomes first autistic Muppet
April 14th, 20170 Long-running children's television show "Sesame Street" welcomed a new kid to the block — a Muppet with autism called Julia. A redhead who loves to sing and remembers the words to lots of songs, Julia debuted on the show for preschoolers on April 10 after a five-year outreach effort to families and experts on autism, Sesame...
Arab American author tells stories from the intersection between cultures
April 14th, 20170 BALTIMORE —Author Susan Muaddi Darraj intersects her identities as a Palestinian and as an American to tell stories from the "third space— the space between two cultures" that ultimately shapes the characters involved in her tales. According to Darraj, there are so many stories that could be told about the Palestinian immigrant...
Pepsi commercial underplays recent protests
April 8th, 20170 Pepsi's new ad featuring Kendall Jenner prompted Twitter users to howl outrage on Wednesday, with civil rights advocates saying it trivialized recent street unrest across the United States. The ad, released late on Tuesday, shows Jenner, a model and reality TV star, in a photo shoot when she notices a protest march passing by her...
Syrian American woman debuts rap video about hijab
April 8th, 20170 FLINT— A Syrian American poet and activist from Flint Township debuted her first rap music video, “Hijabi”, in an effort to shatter stereotypes about hijabis on Muslim Women’s Day. The new hijabi artist, Mona Haydar, 28, filmed it at the Arab American National Museum when she was eight months pregnant. She said that...
Bluesman Eric Bibb: From Syria to Detroit, we are all migrants
April 2nd, 20170 LONDON- "Migration Blues", a new album from veteran bluesman Eric Bibb, uses the sounds of the American South to tell the tale of everyone from 1920s farmers fleeing the Dust Bowl for California to refugees crossing the Mediterranean to Europe in the 2010s. Along the way are Mexicans seeking a future in the United States, families...
Arab American storytellers share personal narratives
March 24th, 20170 DEARBORN—On Saturday, March 18, The Arab American National Museum held a storytelling event called "Hikayat: Personal Narratives from a Cultural Perspective" from 7 to 9 p.m. Some of the most successful and talented Arab Americans in the country shared their stories. The Palestinians Podcast, a platform that aims to bring the...
Restoration work completed on Jesus’ tomb site in Jerusalem
March 24th, 20170 JERUSALEM— A team of scientists and restorers has completed work on the purported site of Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem's Old City. The tomb was re-opened to the public on Wednesday. Many Christians believe Jesus' body was buried at what became the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The group has worked for the past nine months at...
Destroyed by ISIS, Iraq’s ancient winged bull to rise again in London
March 24th, 20170 LONDON— An ancient Assyrian winged bull sculpture destroyed by ISIS in 2015 is to be remade from empty Iraqi date syrup cans and displayed in Trafalgar Square in London. The work by U.S. artist Michael Rakowitz has won the next commission for the square's unoccupied Fourth Plinth, upon which a series of 11 new artworks have been...
Get your own facts, Palestinian artist Samia Halaby advises
March 17th, 20170 Palestinian painter Samia Halaby has blunt advice for aspiring Arab artists — get your inspiration firsthand, whether from ordinary people or historical documents, avoiding the "lies" of the media. Halaby, who made her name with abstract paintings, drew on both kinds of source for her most overtly political project, a series of...
Statue of girl stares down Wallstreet’s bull in defiance on Women’s Day eve
March 10th, 20170 As many American women prepare to draw attention to their role in the workplace, a Wall Street firm on Tuesday put up a statue of a girl in front of Lower Manhattan's well-known bronze charging bull, as if to fearlessly stare it down. Placing the diminutive, grade school-aged girl in front of the massive bull on the eve of...
Chicago based artist combines Eastern and Western motifs
March 10th, 20170 CHICAGO-Chicago-based artist Zeinab Saab looks to Islamic art to develop an intricate patchwork in a Western nexus. With finesse, precision and passion, she draws together a narrative through imagery that she describes as “having both feet in two rivers.” A Fordson High School graduate originally displaying a penchant for...
State Department tweets, then deletes congratulations to Iranian Oscar winner
March 6th, 20170 Washington, DC - On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued and then deleted a congratulatory message for an Oscar win by a prominent Iranian director who criticized President Trump's travel ban as "inhumane." The State Department's official Persian-language Twitter account, @USAdarFarsi, tweeted congratulations to the Iranian...
Mahershala Ali makes history as first Muslim actor to win Oscar
March 6th, 20170 Los Angeles - Mahershala Ali made history as the first Muslim actor to win an academy award. He won the best supporting actor Oscar on Sunday for his role as a drug-dealing mentor to an impoverished Black boy in the intimate independent drama "Moonlight." Ali, 43, plays Juan, a drug dealer who takes a young Black boy living in......
Lebanese American illustrator merges graphic design and comics
February 27th, 20170 DEARBORN — On Saturday, Feb. 25, Lebanese American graphic designer and illustrator Aya Krisht will deliver a talk called "Design in Comics" from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Arab American National Museum, where she works as the media designer. Krisht told The AANews that she has been fascinated by art and storytelling from a...
Poet Nathalie Handal: A global citizen rooted in Palestine
February 10th, 20173 NEW YORK, NY— Through her diverse experiences and approach to poetry, multicultural award-winning author Nathalie Handal metaphorically tears down borders. Her work embraces the world and connections— allowing her to be in Palestine even when she’s not physically there. Born in 1969 to Palestinian parents from Bethlehem, Handal......
Exhibit showcasing inventions from Islam’s Golden Age coming to Detroit
January 29th, 20170 DEARBORN —A local group is working on bringing an exhibit called "1001 Inventions" to the Michigan Science Center in Detroit this fall, in collaboration with several Arab American organizations. These local organizations and businesses are lending a helping hand to complete the necessary funding to bring this traveling 15,000 square...
Palestinian artist reflects homeland’s struggles
January 29th, 20170 FAIRFAX, VA— Visual artist Manal Deeb uses her Palestinian heritage as a basis for her artwork— uncovering the many struggles of Palestinians while integrating Arabic calligraphy to show the influence culture and religion has on their lives. “My artwork presents a twist to modern art through a combination of digital art and...
Pop star Katy Perry defends Muslims in newly produced video
January 19th, 20170 LOS ANGELES - Pop star Katy Perry is coming to the defense of Muslims in a new Public Service Announcement video she produced. The “Dark Horse” singer produced a new video titled “Is History repeating itself?” a video that draws parallels between the rhetoric that caused the mass incarceration of Japanese Americans and the...
New hijab emojis likely to be added to smartphones next year
December 2nd, 20160 LONDON — Fifty-one new emojis are likely to appear on smartphones next year, including people wearing hijabs, women breastfeeding, characters with beards and emojis representing older people, after phone makers proposed the additions, according to The Telegraph. Unicode approved the new icons, which means there will now be a total......
ASIYA designs sports hijab for Muslim women
December 2nd, 20160 MINNEAPOLIS — Muslim women who are interested in playing sports but have felt held back by their clothing might have a new option to comfortably participate. The company ASIYA has created a sports hijab, which it calls modesty in motion. It is a hijab designed to cover the head as a normal hijab would, but easily allow for...
Arab American National Museum empowers women through filmmaking program
November 18th, 20160 Young women participate in the Arab American National Museum's "Reel Stories" filmmaking program.DEARBORN — The Arab American National Museum is empowering young women through a filmmaking program that creates a diverse, collaborative setting, where innovation and commitment are key components to success. "Reel Stories:......
Cover girl selects Muslim woman as newest spokesperson
November 5th, 20160 A hijab-wearing Youtube star has been named the newest spokeswoman for CoverGirl cosmetics. Nura Afia, a beauty blogger and a practicing Muslim, will appear in commercials and billboards wearing a hijab as she promotes the U.S. cosmetics giant alongside a diverse group of other models. Afia's Youtube makeup tutorials have a...
Palestinian graphic novelist merges art and activism to tell refugees’ stories
November 4th, 20160 DEARBORN— Chicago-born Palestinian graphic novelist Leila Abdelrazaq is showcasing her work in an exhibition called “Drawing in the Diaspora” at the Arab American National Museum from Nov. 12 to April 19. The 24-year-old said she identifies as Palestinian because she feels inclined to do so as Israelis have continued to......
