Converging Lines: Tracing the Artistic Lineage of the Arab Diaspora in the U.S.
By: Anthony Bayyouk / Arab America Contributing Writer
Introduction
Over the past century, Washington DC has become a place where all nationalities can come together and express their culture through art, music, food, and religion. Today, the Middle East Institute ( MEI), founded in 1964, is the oldest institute in DC dedicated to the Middle East and its goal is to increase knowledge of the Middle East among the people in the United States. Today, the MEI is projecting its love for the Arab American heritage and culture by celebrating its 75th year anniversary with an art exhibit embracing seventeen Arab American and Arab diaspora artists. The exhibit began on September 10 and will run until November 17. Book an appointment now!
Kate Seely, MEI Vice president for art, culture, and communication hosted the event, and the exhibit was carefully put together and presented by Maymanah Farhat. Farhat has a passion for art from the Arab world and has curated exhibits across the nation and abroad. To name a few, Farhat has curated exhibits for the Arab American National Museum, Art Dubai, and Beirut Exhibition Center. Farhat welcomed everyone on an opening day, walked us through, and told us all about the stories behind each piece.
The exhibit begins with Helen Khal born in Pennsylvania to Lebanese parents. Khal started her career at 21 and moved to Lebanon in 1946, and opened the first-ever art gallery in Lebanon Gallery One. A show-stopping piece is the Twenty Drawings by Kahlil Gibran. The twenty early illustrations feature delicate, emotional expressions of the human form and an exploration of man’s relationship with nature. There are only a hundred copies made in the world. Also on display is Jacqueline Reem Salloum, Happy Birthday My Dear Sister ( Sane Hilwe Ya Okhti). The piece is inspired by an interview Jacqueline had with Sumaya Yousef who grew up in a refuge camp. The masterpiece is a sliced cake, which contains bullets on the inside. growing up in a refugee camp in Hebron, Palestine where birthdays were not celebrated because of the pain families were going through. But one year, fourteen-year-old Sumaya Yousef broke the sad custom by baking her sister a cake.
Jacqueline Reem Salloum and John Halaka are only two of the seventeen artist on display at the MEI.
During this experience, visitors get a chance to step back and view the Arab world through the eyes of displaced artists. The 17 artists give us a look at the Arab world through their eyes by sharing their emotional experiences. Some artists display joyful times, while others display the struggles felt in refugee camps. The exhibit’s purpose is to shine a light on the unrecognized artists that have intertwined Arab struggle with art. Some of the artists displayed are part of the Arab diaspora, although they are native-born Americans. Their depictions make you feel as if they lived through the struggles they paint about.
You can view the exhibit in person from September 10- November 17, 2021 Book an appointment here.
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