Let’s Dance
NYAF Launch Concert
and Dance Party
New York Arab Festival (NYAF) in partnership with the World Music Institute presents live music by Egyptian genre-bending neo-soul rap artist Felukah and energetic dance tunes spun by DJ Nadia and DJ meëraj at NuBlu on Friday, April 7th, 2023 from 8pm-11pm. Join us for this series of back to back music acts, a concert and a dance party!
For tickets and more information, please click below
Ancient Futures
New York Arab Festival (NYAF) in partnership with The Opening Gallery and Greece in USA, presents a gallery exhibition of digital and video art by Saudi Arabian artists Ahaad Alamoudy and Obaid Safi and Egyptian artists Mariam Sadik and Manar Abdelmaaboud at The Opening Gallery on 42 Walker Street from April 10-21, 2023. From myths to ancient trade routes, the exhibition looks at the power of ancient narratives to investigate the present, and foretell the future. Join us for the opening reception, April 10th at 6pm-8pm. For hours, schedules and more information, please visit www.theopeninggallery.com.
GPS Chats: Arab American
Choreography Today
GPS Chats: Arab American Choreography Today
Join us for this panel discussion exploring contemporary Arab American choreography presented in partnership with Movement Research and New York Arab Festival (NYAF) featuring Leyya Mona Tawil (aka Lime Rickey International), Jadd Tank and Nora Alami moderated by NYAF producer, Cindy Sibilsky, at Movement Research, 122 Community Center at 150 First Avenue (Manhattan) on April 12th, 2023 (6:30pm-8pm). Free with an RSVP, limited seating available. To RSVP and for more information, please visit movementresearch.org.
Contemporary Dance Program
in partnership with La Mama Moves
A double-bill dance program of contemporary Arab American choreographers, co-produced and presented through a partnership with New York Arab Festival (NYAF), La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, and La MaMa ETC, featuring Leyya Mona Tawil (aka Lime Rickey International), Jadd Tank and Nora Alami at La MaMa Theater, Ellen Stewart Theatre, 66 East 4th Street on April 13, 14, 15 at 7pm and April 16 at 2pm. For tickets and more information, please visit www.lamama.org
GPS Chats: Contemporary Performance and
Creative Production
in Beirut
GPS Chats: Contemporary Performance & Creative Production in Beirut
Join us for a conversation about contemporary dance and performance in Lebanon presented in partnership with Movement Research and New York Arab Festival (NYAF) featuring Romy Assouad of YARAQA at Movement Research, 122 Community Center at 150 First Avenue (Manhattan), on April 19th, 2023 (6:30pm-8pm). Free with an RSVP, limited seating available. To RSVP and for more information, please visit movementresearch.org.
This project is supported by the GPS/Global Practice Sharing MENA Exchange Program of Movement Research with funding from the Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund.
Brooklyn Maqam and Zafer Tawil
Join the incredible music collective, Brooklyn Maqam and Palestinian-American the inimitable music artist Zafer Tawil, for this concert! Stick around for the Arabic Music Jam after the set!
New York based Palestinian-American Zafer Tawil is a virtuosic performer on the oud, violin, qanun and a full range of Arab percussion instruments. He has performed with numerous musicians ranging from Sting to Arab music greats such as Simon Shaheen, Chab Mami, and Bassam Saba to avant-garde composer/performer Elliot Sharp, among others. Zafer has composed music for a number of films including the Oscar-nominated Jonathan Demme film Rachel Getting Married.
Join us Tuesday, April 25 at 8:00PM
Gathering: New York City
Practice Sharing with Yaa Samar Dance Theatre
Gathering: New York City with Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre
Join us on this work-in-progress showing of the new work by Palestinian American choreographer Samar Haddad King. This CUNY Dance Initiative residency features a part staged work, part improvisational score by YSDT Gathering: New York City that utilizes technology, storytelling, sound design and play to examine what brings people together in celebration, conflict, protest and sport. The work-in-progress is directed and choreographed by YSDT Artistic Director Samar Haddad King and takes place on Saturday, April, 29 at 2pm at Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island. For more information, visit Snug Harbor on this link
Enchanted Territories
Curated by Adele Jarrar. Produced by Taxir
Enchanted Territory: Visit on Decentraland
May 10th to May 17th.
Virtual exhibition on Decentraland
Curated by Adele Jarrar, and produced by the pioneering Lebanese Web3 collective Taxir, in partnership with the popular metaverse Decentraland, Enchanted Territories showcases a compelling array of contemporary works that showcase the limitless possibilities of digital art created by a group of emerging and established young Arab artists. These artists have harnessed the power of technology to create innovative and transformative digital pieces that explore new frontiers in art and aesthetics. Head to Decentraland by clicking on the exhibition title, for more information, and to attend the exhibition virtually.
NYAF Film Program
In partnership with Museum of Moving Image and Arab Film and Media Institute
New York Arab Festival Short Film Program
Sunday, May 28, 2023 at 3:00 p.m.
Location: Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35th Ave, Queens, NY 11106), Bartos Screening Room
New York Arab Festival (NYAF), in partnership with Arab Film and Media Institute and Museum of the Moving Image, is proud to present the 2023 edition’s film program. The program reflects the diverse voices of contemporary Arab filmmakers based in the U.S. or the larger diaspora who create works that challenge how the region has historically been mapped, presented, and represented. The series of shorts includes new and emerging genres of local sci-fi stories, chronicles of radical love, fictionalized political history, and other experimental forms. It features radically poetic visionary films pushing boundaries into performance art and shorts that utilize futurist digital tools. The themes explored include imagined futures; love and loss; and home, place, and belonging.
Join us for films by Mariam Mekiwi, Randa M. Ali, Mohammad Sadik, Ahaad Alamoudy, Khaled Jarrar, Mona Gamil, Ziad Abdel-Aal.
Followed by a conversation with filmmakers Khaled Jarrar and Alia Haju and AFMI Director of Film Programming Yasmina Tawil, moderated by NYAF founding producer Cindy Sibilsky.
Tickets: $15 / $11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for MoMI members. Order tickets here. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. https://movingimage.us/event/ny-arab-festival-shorts/