Sudanese Writer in Exile Knows Life’s ‘Violent Reality,’ and Its Flashes of Joy
Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin fled Sudan to escape persecution. His 2009 novel The Jungo, once banned, has won praise and prizes—in Arabic and in French translation.
Art in Isolation: Arab Artists Express Emotions Evoked by Covid-19
Art by Arab artists, on view online and at the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., reflects on universal feelings of isolation and confinement caused by the coronavirus crisis.
Film Studies Thrive in Saudi Arabia, Promising Jobs and Cultural Change
The film industry is growing as the kingdom modernizes, and university film programs are poised to attract more students who want to study at home.
A New Textbook on Arab Graphic Design Provides a Rare Overview
Two artist-academics have written a textbook on Arab graphic design that is a landmark in capturing the regional history of the discipline.
Sharjah Book Fair Brings Back In-Person Events
The opportunities for personal encounters that book fairs typically provide have been missing since the coronavirus shutdowns began last spring. That’s about to change.
Sharjah Youth Exhibition Will Showcase Work Inspired by the Coronavirus
Young artists have submitted more than a thousand works to Sharjah Youth’s “Art for All” project, a virtual exhibit that will be on view later this month.
Digital Archive Collects Arabic Book Covers of the 20th Century
The Arabic Book Cover Archive project focuses on book cover designs from the 1940s to 1990s. The goal isn’t to collect pretty images but to provide the raw material for research.
‘Home’: Nine Arab Poets Explore Interior Spaces in a New Bilingual Anthology
The dual-language volume does not aim to be completist or canonical, but it may help amend the dearth of contemporary Arabic poetry in English translation.
Beirut Blast: A Map of the Damage to Educational and Cultural Institutions
Scores of educational, arts and cultural organizations saw their facilities damaged or destroyed in the August 4 port explosion.
Scholars Confront a Silence About Blackness in Middle East Studies
In a digital conversation, a panel of professors and students challenged the persistent notion that race is “somehow beyond the scope” of Middle East studies.