Taking Arab Arts Online for SDP Students

Since 2007, Al-Bustan has brought talented teaching artists into the classrooms of the School District of Philadelphia to teach the musical traditions and visual arts of the Arab World. Our After-School Arab Arts Program, which began at John Moffet Elementary School and last year expanded to Juniata Park Academy, went virtual this Fall in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The end of 2020, therefore, marks the successful completion of our first virtually-held After-School Arab Arts Program, which served students from 15 schools!  Despite the challenging circumstances, our dedicated teaching artists, Hafez Kotain, Serge El Helou, and Lisa Volta, adapted to share their love of percussion, singing, and visual arts with students each Friday afternoon on Zoom.

In Drumming with Hafez, students went from learning the basics of percussion on the doumbek—the dūmand tak—to stringing together rhythms, Balady, Hajaa, and Fox Kabeer. Each student took on a piece of a larger composition, creating a collaborative composition entirely over Zoom. Hafez’s experience as a longtime educator was instrumental.

Singing and Music Skills with Serge explored the sounds of Arab countries like Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine, and taught students how to sing in Arabic. Each week, Serge inspired students to sing by introducing them to famous Arab musicians. Students learned breath control and how to read music as they applied what they learned to songs from across the Arab World.

Lisa drew the interest of many new students in her visual art class. Through delving into the works of Arab artists like Etel Adnan, Zena Assi, and Zahrah Al-Ghamdi, students created works of clay, watercolors, and even comic books!  Students loved using their art supplies provided by Al-Bustan in this wildly popular class which was a true virtual space of creativity and collaboration amongst our young artists.

We were also happy to have three graduate students and aspiring artist-educators from Temple University join us for the program this year, Mary Kate MacFarland, Sophie Shields, and Charlotte Calautti. Read their reflections on Al-Bustan’s blog.

We want to thank the William Penn Foundation and Stockon Rush Bartol Foundation for their continued support of our After-School Arab Arts Program, as well as the people integral to its success: our teaching artists, school administrators, teachers, and, of course, our students. We are excited to continue with our virtual program in 2021!

Check out this video of students sharing their works: