New York Arab Festival 2024 Returns This Month

New York Arab Festival 2024 has announced its third edition, with exciting programs and partnerships in New York City this April and May 2024. Taking place in venues across NYC from April into May to honor Arab American Heritage Month, which coincides with Ramadan and Eid this year for the third year in a row. New York Arab Festival (NYAF) is programming multiple live in-person events in partnership with pioneering institutions across NYC, the USA, and internationally through satellite events.

NYAF 2024 launches on Sunday, April 7 at 7pm with NEW YORK ARAB FESTIVAL RETURNS: Live at The Jalopy Theatre (315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY). For the first time in NYC, this double bill presents Malikat Al Dabke, the only all-female Dabke troupe from Washington, DC, who will perform collective dance choreographies ranging from Palestinian to Iraqi dance styles and music. Angie Assal, who will host the evening and present a series of classical raqs-sharqi dance solos, will share a revival of dance heritage from Egypt, Lebanon and the Levant, accompanied by virtuoso musician Ameer Armaly. Click HERE for $20 tickets.

Monday, April 8 at 8pm at St. Mark’s Church (131 E. 10th Street, NYC) New York Arab Festival and Poetry Project are pleased to announce their first partnership to honor Arab American Heritage Month. Recognizing the power of language during times of strife, this event brings poets, writers and public speakers from Arab and Arab American backgrounds and their allies to share urgent issues with their communities. The event is dedicated to the memory of beloved Palestinian poet, writer and philosopher Refaat Alareer, who was killed in Gaza in 2023 and features readings by Andrew Riad, Farah Barqawi, Zeinab Ftes, Sophia Gutchinov, Hind Shoufani, and Issam Zeibak. Click HERE for $8 tickets.

Due to popular demand from the first New York Arab Festival Short Film Program last year, on Sunday, April 14, from 1:30-4:30pm, NYAF resumes its successful collaboration with the Museum of the Moving Image (36-01 35 Ave, Astoria, Queens, NY) with the second year of the NYAF Short Film Program at the Bartos Screening Room, featuring films from across the Arab region by filmmakers including Randa M. Ali, Ahmed Farahat, and others. The program examines illusion, myths, and the construction of grand narratives by exploring individual voices, a dream-granting institution, the collapse of political illusions, or myths of mermaids and sirens reshaping urban and political landscapes. 

Later in April, NYAF presents two concerts at NUBLU (151 Loisaida Ave/Avenue C, NYC) for the third year of partnership with the renowned music venue. On Friday, April 19, at 7pm, NYAF Presents The Arab Blues ($20 in advance, $25 at the door, get tickets HERE). Hailing from Chicago in their Manhattan debut, The Arab Blues (Lebanese-Egyptian oud and guitar player Rami Gabriel and Native Egyptian percussionist Karim Nagi) blend traditional Arabic music and styles with Chicago blues, jazz, and rock n’ roll. They trace a trajectory between tradition and innovation, embodying the call of tradition and the diaspora's response. 

On Saturday, April 27 at 7pm at NUBLU (151 Loisaida Ave/Avenue C, NYC), NYAF Presents Esraa Warda and Fella Oudane ($20 in advance, $25 at the door, get tickets HERE). Fella Oudane, a powerhouse singer and darbouka virtuoso, and Esraa Warda, a spirited dance artist from NYC, unite in an electrifying performance of the feminine force in Algerian music. Fella Oudane, hailing from Bab-El-Oued, Algiers and currently based in LA, gained fame through duos with Cheb Nasro and upholds traditional Algerian music, including Kabyle, Assimi, and Rai. Esraa Warda is a prominent Algerian-American dance artist exploring socio-cultural themes in traditional Algerian dance who’s been featured on PBS's Bare Feet and NPR's Tiny Desk, in The New York Times, VOGUE Arabia, The Metric, and was a BBC 100 Women nominee in 2022. On Sunday, April 28, from 3-6pm, both women will offer a double Algerian drumming and dancing workshop at La MaMa Studios (47 Great Jones, 4th floor). The workshop is FREE, but space is limited, and RSVPs are required. Click HERE to RSVP.

Late April through early May, NYAF will collaborate with La MaMa ETC for the third year with an exhibition celebrating Arab and Arab American performance history, with 12 artists from across the Arab world and the diaspora. As part of the ‘Saudi Sounds’ focus program, two live events featuring three Saudi Arabian artists will commemorate the exhibition at the newly renovated La MaMa 74A West 4th Street. The first event, “Sound of Mecca,” features Saudi artist and musician Ahmed Fakeih, exploring contemporary soundscapes from the holy city.

NYAF’s observance of Arab American Heritage will conclude with an event at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art (26 Wooster Street, NYC) on April 30. Other events and partnerships soon to be announced will continue throughout April and into May, including a series of workshops and talks at partner bookstores Wendy’s Subway and Storm Bookstore and the new edition of the Art and Infrastructure symposium ‘RASEEF,’ which will take place in partnership with the pioneering consultancy and production studio Urban Art Projects on May 11 in Beacon, NY.