𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥-𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴 with Mohamad Abdouni, Dayna Ash, Stefan Maneval, and Yasmine Rifaii moderated by Samira Makki

Mohamad Abdouni is an artist, photographer, filmmaker and curator based between Beirut and Istanbul. He is also Editor in-Chief and Creative Director of COLD CUTS magazine, the photo journal exploring queer cultures in the SWANA region. His personal endeavors tend to focus on the untold stories of Beirut and uncovering the rich yet eradicated queer histories of the Arab-speaking region through several documentaries and photo stories.

Dayna Ash (she/they) is an intersectional feminist, performing artist, writer, and the founder & Executive Director of Haven for Artists, a cultural feminist organization working at the intersection of art and activism. Dayna is an autodidact academic whose work in advocacy and arts is rooted in intersectional and de-colonial queer practices for the creation of alternative structures.

Stefan Maneval is the co-founder of Falschrum Books, a Berlin-based non-profit publishing house at the intersection of art, literature and research promoting dialogue between Arab-speaking and Western audiences.

Yasmine Rifaii is an artist from El Mina, Lebanon. Her practice traverses editorial, curatorial, architectural, and visual art disciplines. She is the Creative Director of Haven for Artists, a Beirut-based cultural feminist organization. She is also the co-founder of Al Hayya, a print magazine and online platform dedicated to the Arab woman where she served as Editorial Director & Co-creative director on 4 print issues. 

Samira Makki is a PhD student in Film Studies at the department of Art and Media Studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). She is interested in the notion of the militant image, the depictions of belonging in film, and the rapport between politics and aesthetics. Her writings appear in Frames Cinema Journal; The Reservoir; Radical Film, Art and Digital Media for Societies in Turmoil; and Film-Philosophy.

This conversation is part of 𝘜𝘯/𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘥, the public program for 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵: 𝐁𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫.