Al-Bustan is pleased to work with the following literary, visual, and performing artists in 2009-10:
Visiting Artists:
Naomi Shihab Nye
Naomi Shihab Nye is an acclaimed Palestinian-American poet, novelist, teacher and anthologist. A self-described “wandering poet,” Nye has spent more than thirty years traveling across America and around the world, leading writing workshops that inspire children and adults alike. Born in the U.S. to a Palestinian father and American mother, her writings reflect the intricacies of living as a product of two worlds. Throughout the twenty volumes that she has written or edited for readers of all ages, Nye’s work emphasizes her desire to build bridges for peace in the midst of dissonance and diversity. Her poetry and prose, which places special emphasis on the nuances of the “ordinary,” has been featured on National Public Radio, PBS, and literary magazines across the country. Nye has been recognized as a Guggenheim Fellow, a Witter Bynner Fellow at Library of Congress, and a visiting professor of creative writing at universities across the U.S. She has received numerous coveted poetry prizes in praise of her writing. Most notably, in 2001, her work garnered national attention when a book of poems, 19 Varieties of Gazelle, was named as a finalist for the prestigious National Book Award. Nye was a visiting poet with Al-Bustan in February 2009.
Simon Shaheen
An internationally acclaimed Arab music performer, composer, instructor, and virtuoso of the oud and violin, Simon Shaheen tours worldwide as a soloist and with his ensembles. His recordings have won him an international reputation as a leading Arab musician of his generation, receiving the prestigious National Heritage Award in 1994. Among these, Blue Flame brought his Arab-Jazz fusion international exposure, garnering eleven Grammy nominations. A master instructor in performance and theory, Shaheen is dedicated to teaching Arab music and passing on his knowledge to the younger generation. He is founder/director of the annual summer Arabic Music Retreat held at Mount Holyoke College, and has taught at Julliard, Columbia, Harvard, and Cornell, among others universities, as well as in Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan. Shaheen presented Al-Bustan’s workshop for music teachers in November 2008 and in January 2009 led a series of master workshops with youth ensembles. In February 2009 he performed with the Shaheen Ensemble at the Kimmel Center. He returns in February 2010 for workshops and a competition, culminating with a concert performance in April 2010.
Ibtisam Barakat
Ibtisam Barakat, a Palestinian-American, is a writer, poet, and educator. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Birzeit University in the West Bank, Barakat moved to New York in 1986, where she interned with The Nation. Later, she obtained Masters in Journalism and Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Her memoir, Tasting the Sky: A Palestenian Childhood, deals with growing up with war and occupation. Released in 2007 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, her book was named by Booklist as one of the top ten biographies for youth and was listed as an American Library Association Notable, and in 2008 won the International Reading Association’s Best Non-Fiction Book Award for Children and Young Adults, and the best Arab-American Book Award for Children and Young Adults. Barakat’s work has been published by Simon and Schuster, Pocket Books, Random House, Scholastic, Weekly Reader Corporation, and elsewhere. Some of her poetry in Arabic and English can be found at UniVerse and Meena. She is the founder of the Write Your Life seminars, “where people take the time to explore their life stories, and to turn various elements into literature and art — poems, letters, essays, paintings, songs, plays, short stories, or humor pieces.” Barakat was a featured guest poet at Al-Bustan Camp in July 2009.
Philadelphia-based Teaching Artists:
Hanna Khoury
Hanna Khoury is an Arab-Israeli violinist trained in the classical traditions of Arab and Western music. As the music director of the Arabesque Music Ensemble, Khoury has led nationwide tours performing traditional Arab music in major venues and universities, and has recorded two traditional Arab music albums: Al Fursan Al-Talatha and The Songs of Sheikh Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of People. He is a violinist and Arab music advisor with Intercultural Journeys, frequently performing with cellist Ohad Bar David. Hanna recently toured with Lebanese superstar Fairuz and played lead violin with Iraqi singer Kazem Al-Saher, and Grammy winner Youssou N’Dour. In addition, Hanna can be heard on several pop songs including Grammy nominated song Beautiful Liar (featuring Beyoncé and Shakira), and Love and Compassion (featuring Paula Cole and Kazem Al Saher). Hanna recorded strings for Shakira’s Grammy performance of Hips Don’t Lie, and has collaborated with musician/composer Kareem Roustom on multiple projects including releasing an Arabic jazz album with Al-Zafeer Ensemble. A recipient of the America-Israel Scholarship and Qattan Foundation Award, Khoury graduated Magna Cum-Laude with departmental honors from UCLA with Bachelors in Economics and Music Performance, and obtained his Masters degree in Music from Temple University. Khoury began teaching music with Al-Bustan in Spring 2009: first leading the small ensemble for a performance in May 2009, then music for one week at Al-Bustan Camp in July 2009, and currently as music director of Al-Bustan’s newly formed Philadelpha Arab Music Ensemble.
Hafez El Ali Kotain
Hafez El Ali Kotain, an accomplished master percussionist, is fluent in both Arab and Latin rhythms — a fluency he honed in his native countries of Syria and Venezuela. He began studying the doumbek in Syria at the age of seven, first performed on stage at age nine, and went on to study with master Syrian percussionist Hady Jazan, winning the regional percussion competitions in Syria for five consecutive years. In Venezuela he studied percussion at the TMV Institute for Music in Valencia, where he also taught a variety of percussion styles blending Arab and Latino music to youth. Kotain has toured with Syrian singer George Wassouf in Canada and the US; and has performed in Philadelphia with acclaimed artist Sting and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Kotain has worked with Al-Bustan over the past three years and led the Al-Bustan Percussion Ensemble since May 2009.Adeeb Refela
Adeeb Refela, an Egyptian, is a self-taught player of the oud, violin, and guitar. For over ten years, he was a full-time performer playing the oud with the National Arabic Music Orchestra at the Cairo Opera House, under the direction of renowned conductor Salim Sehab. He has also traveled in Europe and within the US playing the oud and violin with various musical groups. Refela has been a guest musician with Al-Bustan for several years.Tremain Smith
Tremain Smith has led workshops for youth and adults in the Philadelphia area for over fifteen years. She has worked as a Artist-in-Residence at Westtown School, Penn Alexander School, the Jubilee School, and the University City Arts League. Smith’s creative work in encaustic painting has gained a significant amount of attention in the art world. Four of her pieces are included in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and numerous works are in private collections and galleries. Featured in several art books and journals, her paintings have been reviewed extensively by national publications, including the Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and Philadelphia Inquirer. Smith has taught Al-Bustan’s encaustic painting and Arabic calligraphy workshops and at Al-Bustan Camp.
Bassem Yousri
Born in Algeria and raised in Cairo, Bassem Yousri has studied painting, video, and fabric arts in Cairo at Helwan University and at Drexel, and this year completed his MFA in painting at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art. He was a recipient of a Fulbright Arts Grant incorporating fashion design with painting. In January 2010 he will begin a six-month fellowship at the Kala Art Institute in Berkeley, California to pursue his digital filmmaking interests. Yousri taught a semester of Al-Bustan’s after-school workshops at Moffet Elementary School.
Rachel Bliss
Rachel Bliss is a visual artist whose work has been exhibited in thirteen solo shows and numerous group shows in galleries and museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Society of Illustrators’ Museum in New York, Rider University, Coombs Contemporary Gallery in London, and Alternative Museum in New York. Her work has been reproduced in publications such as The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Village Voice, and Penguin Books. Bliss has taught/lectured at the Philadelphia College of the Arts, Moore College of Art and Design, and Village of Arts and Humanities. She was artist-in-residence for three years at Greenfield Elementary Public School working with students in grades K-8. She has taught Al-Bustan’s art and story writing workshops, several semesters of after-school workshops at Moffet Elementary School, and two summers at Al-Bustan Camp.
Justin Poole
Justin Poole is a Doctoral Candidate in the University of Maryland’s Theatre and Performance Studies Department. He holds a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Villanova University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Eastern University. As a professional actor he has appeared in film, television, and theatre. Thanks to a grant from the Austrian Academic Exchange Service he has most recently been conducting dissertation research in Vienna, where he has spent significant time observing the established and independent theatre/performance scenes including a community-based program dedicated to providing art education to the city’s Turkish immigrant population. As a theatre instructor and director Poole has worked at University of Maryland, Eastern University, Radnor Township, Burn Brae Performing Arts Day Camp, and Media Theatre. He is the Artistic Director of an independent theatre company that is dedicated to using theatre in order to foster cross-cultural exchange and collaboration. He is also a visual artist and displays his work in local galleries. Poole teaches Drama at Al-Bustan Camp.
