Ekphrastic Poetry, in Dialogue with Archipelago of Whispers

This session explores the relationship between looking and writing, considering how an encounter with an artwork can translate into emotion, memory, and poetic response. With intuition, curiosity, and imagination as moments of expansion, participants will experiment with ekphrasis as a way of transforming what we see into language. 

Workshop Session I (Thursday, October 22)

Open to ages 18+ 

No prior experience required

Language: English and Arabic

About the Instructor

Sarah Afaneh is a Palestinian artist (b. 2001) with an interdisciplinary practice that encompasses writing, photography, printmaking, and textiles. She is currently developing a series of work that embodies, archives, and translates grief through language, image, and textile—acts that become liberative gestures of mourning.

Sarah is a recipient of the Teaching Artists Fellowship at Manarat Al Saadiyat (2025/26) and the Salama bint Hamdan Emerging Artists Fellowship (2024/25). Her work has been featured in Bayt AlMamzar, Satellite (Dubai), and The Cube at NYU Abu Dhabi, and published in Dukkan Collective, Sumou Mag, Global Art Daily, The National, and Fiker Institute. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature & Creative Writing, and Social Research & Public Policy, with a minor in Political Science, from NYU Abu Dhabi (2022)