Featured
A review of Nadia Gohar’s solo exhibition, curated by Minh Nguyen at Soil Gallery, Seattle, Washington, USA. Written by GalleryGirl (Lizzy Vartanian Collier). The exhibition explored historical memory, migration and sociality as a survival response through an immersive installation that centred around a fountain.
A non-fictional short story telling the tale of Shaikha’s experience working in a cake factory in England at the age of nineteen and running into an unexpected relationship.
Join Cinema Akil and Banat Collective for a panel discussion following the screening of DREAM, GIRL, a documentary showcasing the stories of inspiring and ambitious female entrepreneurs. The panel brings together three female entrepreneurs from the UAE, moderated by Banat Collective founder Sara Bin Safwan, to discusses the challenges and triumphs of being a female entrepreneur in the Middle East.
Panelists:
Priya Bhatia – Hautletic; Lujain Abulfaraj – Twothirds Design & WTD Magazine; Darah Ghanem – Follow the Halo; The panel is curated and moderated by Sara Bin Safwan – Banat Collective
About Banat Collective
Banat collective is a creative community made in response to the lack of artist spaces and discussions about womanhood in the Middle East and North Africa region. However, we aim to be inclusive of all nationalities and genders to promote peace and balance within our community. Our platform aims to support creatives seeking to produce, collaborate and share their work with the world.
In a time where constant media misrepresentation is in our news feeds, the collective seeks to rethink the ways which we perceive women of color through showcasing contemporary art, poetry and writings through online content, print, exhibition-making, and events. We believe that art is the most ideal and useful tool to spread awareness that goes beyond geographical borders.
Discussions of intersectionality, feminism, gender and identity politics from a ‘middle-eastern’ perspective is becoming increasingly relevant and important. Banat collective offers a space for discussion and creation and to address these questions and issues that course through our everyday lives. www.banatcollective.com // Twitter - @banatcollective // Instagram - @banatcollective
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This podcast and artwork was posted by follow the halo. For more www.followthehalo.com @halozine
Meet the women who are starting their own ventures to support the Arab Arts and Culture scene in the region.
We speak to Zainab Al Radhi about her book ‘For You Are a Galaxy’ and muses, Frida Kahlo and Eve.
Banat Collective interviews Yasmine, a multi-talented Lebanese-Saudi creative who was raised between Montreal, Beirut and Dubai. She is now based in Canada, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Law. In between academic pursuits, she takes candid photographs with her cameras and enjoys exploring music from all around the world.
Banat Collective interviews Sarra’a Abdulaziz an Emirati artist and filmmaker who explores difficult topics such as sexual harassment, mental health and the plight of women in the Arab world. “We hear about victims of rape and sexual harassment everyday, but then we must remember that they don’t appear and disappear like a media trend, they’re still out there navigating life and following their dreams.”
The first exhibition of its kind internationally, Retracing a disappearing landscape features the works of over 25 artists in uncovering modern day Libya.
Banat interviews artist Jana Ghalayini who introduces her practice surrounding women's rights, her personal memory, and her own battle of being a woman in Saudi Arabia.
Hanaa Alfassi speaks with Banat Collective about her upcoming film, 'Lollipop'. The coming of age movie tells a story of a young girl who fights against conformity after reaching puberty.
"Our ideas about Arab women are moving, covering more ground."
Speakers: Rawa Majdi, Co-Founder and President of Kuwait Poets Society, Sara Bin Safwan, Founder of Banat Collective and Sarah Ahmed, Founder of Jaffat El Aqlam, moderated by Raneen Bukhari, Curator, Desert Design, Founder of Loudart and Hunart
Announcement release of 'In The Middle of It All' by Banat Collective featuring 31 artists showcasing artworks through the 'coming of age' theme.
Banat Collective speaks with London-based curator Najla Al Ajeli from Noon Arts Projects who recently curated "Pop Art from North Africa" shown on 22nd September 2017 - 4 November 2017.
Banat chats with textile and embroidery design Sunna Yassin from the UK. Hoping to reshape the way we think about Islam and hijabi women.
Banat Collective's team, an amazing group of women from all over the world, bringing you content of your favourite art and art happenings.
Banat Collective chats with photographer and Azeema Magazine creator Jameela Elfaki. Azeema Magazine is a self-publish mag dedicated to showcasing Women of Color from around the world.
Abu Dhabi Art presents Creative Platforms in the GCC, "Bridging the Gap: Collectives & Creative Platforms in the GCC. Featuring Rawa Majdi, Co-Founder and President of Kuwait Poets Society, Sara Bin Safwan, Founder of Banat Collective and Sarah Ahmed, Founder of Jaffat El Aqlam, moderated by Raneen Bukhari, Curator, Desert Design, Founder of Loudart and Hunart.
This October 2017 spotlight is on films from MENA directed by women. All the protagonists are women who do not have to punch people to be strong female characters.
Banat Collective's August 2017 Spotlight featuring; Reconnecting Art, Variant Space, Protein Studios, Female Muslim Creatives, Burnt Roti, Khidr Collective
Banat sits down with Fatema Nooh, a Bahraini graphic design student seeking to change the misrepresentations of minorities from the Arab region.
Aruua Al Salami shares her story of self-acceptance and exploration of non-binary identities with BANAT Collective
Banat interviews spoken word poet, Rawa Majdi. She talks about feminism, toxictiy of masculinity, starting up Kuwaits Poets Society and of course, poetry!
Manar Khalid, a young Saudi girl finding her way through art. She talks to BANAT about being an arab, a women and an artist. Enjoy her naked lady illustrations and slice of life collage zines.
In our second feature series, BANAT asks Amira about the process in her film photography and her throughts on feminism in Arab culture.
BANAT chats with Sarah Ahmed, a multi-media Yemini/Emirati creative, about feminism, glitch art and her successfull online mag, Jaffat El Aqlam.
Creativity in community and sorority | Filmed on the 6th of March 2020 at l'IMA in Paris, France. Zainab Alradhi, founder of Niswa.org (@niswaorg) a multi-media platform dedicated to the advancement of autonomy for women (Saudi Arabia) ; Farah Barqawi, writer, and cofounder of the Arabic version of the WikiGender platform that is dedicated to the advancement of equality between men and women and founder of The Uprising of Women In The Arab World movement (Palestine); and Sara Bin Safwan, founder of Banat Collective (@srasfwn), created ”in response to the lack of visibility of women artists and dialogue over their status in the MENA region” (United Arab Emirates).