Eric Okdeh is a Philadelphia mural and glass artist whose work is currently on display at Al-Bustan's Hub at 3645 Lancaster Avenue. Resident artist and curator of the exhibit, Lisa Volta, talks with Eric about his practice over the years, and the tangible effects of collective creation in communities.

Eat Me Baladi is a multi-chaptered performance piece featuring audiovisual elements, acting, and burlesque. With meticulously curated costumes, soundscape, and choreography, Mette Loulou von Kohl and Leila Delicious explore the ways their bodies as Palestinian femmes become a symbol of resistance in the face of ethnic cleansing.

This was the animating spirit of a live reading of the Experimental Issue of Mizna’s journal, in collaboration with Al Bustan Seeds of Culture. Six artists shared work, including contributions to the issue, introduced at Al Bustan’s Hub venue by Mizna director Lena Barkawi and Al Bustan director Mohannad Ghawanmeh, in partnership with the Radius of Arab-American Writers (RAWI).

Henna – Inscribing Restoration and Flourishing

The scent of herbs, flowers, and spices all at once, colliding in swirls that fall onto my hands, imprinting them with stories of the women who decorate my skin so exquisitely. That is henna.

The film Memory Box traces a path though sorrow, joy, regret and hope, in a blend of sound, image and word that invites viewers to make their own peace with the promise and peril of recalling.

“We all Meet in the Sky”: Lea Najjar’s Kash Kash Insists on Hope Amid Crisis in Lebanon