Gather for a Writers’ Suhoor, an intimate evening of poetry, collaboration, and reflection. Arrive to be greeted by a typewriter inviting you to contribute a line to a collective poem, a spontaneous act of shared authorship.
The night continues with readings from an invited line-up of writers, followed by a hands-on session led by Sarah Ahmed. Together, we will create a communal accordion book, a living archive inspired by the surrealist “exquisite corpse,” suspending individual authorship as lines and contributions come together into a single, collaborative work.
The evening culminates in the slow, gentle ritual of poetry and a light Suhoor, marking the night as a shared space for reflection, play, and literary exploration.
Open to all skill levels, ages 18 and above. A light Suhoor will be provided.
Language: English with Arabic support available.
Instructor Bio
Sarah Afaneh is a researcher and writer interested in decolonizing knowledge production. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Creative Writing from NYU Abu Dhabi, with a double major in Social Research and Public Policy and a minor in Political Science. Sarah's recent work has been dedicated to understanding the body as storage; a space where emotion, memory, and knowledge are hosted consciously or subconsciously.
Sarah Ahmed is a creative practitioner and the founder of Jaffat El Aqlam, an independent platform established in 2014 that highlights artistic practices from the MENA region. Her multidisciplinary work spans journaling, film photography, glitch art, zine publishing, and participatory practices such as sending postcards to strangers. Alongside her independent projects, she regularly facilitates workshops that engage communities in experimental modes of making and expression. Her work has been featured in Jaffat El Aqlam, Al Tashkeel magazine (Issue 24), Qahwa Project, Al Shakmajiya, Nu Lit House (issues Now, Gratitude, Paradox, Dreams, Whole/Rest, and Space), Riwayya, Reconnecting Arts (Issue 1), MACRO: An Anthology of Images Macros, and OOMK zine.
Maitha Ali is a research-driven artist, theatre maker, and art educator who believes that art is a vehicle for education and collaboration toward strengthening global solidarities. Her work existentially investigates urban angst, human and non-human conviviality, and erasure/silence in collective memory of domestic & built environments. She works with creative methodologies, performance art, text and creative writing, photography and videography, and installation art.
Maitha’s art and research practice is partly a synthesis of her undergraduate studies in political science at NYU and her postgraduate studies in visual, material, and museum anthropology at the University of Oxford. She has performed, shown work, and delivered workshops in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, London, Oxford, New York, and Washington, DC.
Farah Fawzi Ali is an Egyptian-Filipina researcher, curator, and writer. Driven by her mixed heritage and Gulf upbringing, Farah is committed to widening spaces for community dialogue and collective meaning-making. She is the founder of Faire Trade, a community swap shop initiative, and leads the Sharjah Book Authority Community Book Club. Her writing has appeared in Postscript Magazine, Global Art Daily, Sampaguita Press, Art Dubai, Ward Magazine, and Unootha Magazine. She is pursuing an MA in Museum and Critical Heritage Studies at Global Studies University, researching Afro-Asian relations in the arts. Farah is currently creating a literary body of work exploring the Gulf Filipino diaspora through magical realism, speculative fiction, poetry, and prose.