Palestinian crosstitch embroidery, also known as Tatreez, is an art passed down through generations of Palestinians. This workshop will walk you through the basics of what tatreez is, resources to continue learning, the tools and basic skills needed to start. After a short presentation, we will work on a small project with the aim of finishing this during the workshop that you can take home and display proudly and share with the community.

Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery, also known as Tatreez, is an art passed down through generations of Palestinians. Join us for an interactive workshop to learn Palestinian Tatreez, facilitated by Nuha Abdelrahim. 

To grow up in diaspora is to be in a constant state of being deprived the permission to confront, rage, and speak out directly to the voices who have most suppressed us. Diaspora leaves us unable to scream. And, diaspora often prompts us to personify the inanimate and abstract, to develop connections to symbols and objects and find home in them. Join us for a writing workshop on epistolary writing. We will explore the ways in which writing in letter form can foster a sense of reclamation, connection, and home. Open to BIPOC folks and those that identify with diasporic communities.

People from differing SWANA communities will meet to share stories, customs and family experiences surrounding the art of foraging and food preparation. The group will prepare foraged wild grapeleaves in the classical Lebanese tradition, and share the finished dish together as a group in fellowship. Teaching the art of foraging and preparing grape leaves creates accessibility to those in the SWANA community to reclaim their lost traditions. Those who create traditional foods and tell the stories surrounding their importance, are vital artists and ambassadors of cultural continuity.

Discover the art of pyrography in this hands-on workshop, where you will learn the ancient craft of wood burning. This class will introduce you to the basics of this traditional art form, which involves using a heated tool to etch patterns and designs onto wood. You’ll explore the history behind Lebanese wood burning art, often incorporating elements like Arabic calligraphy, natural motifs, and cultural symbols such as the Cedar of Lebanon, which reflect the rich heritage of the region. In this workshop, you'll gain insight into various wood types and tools and develop foundational skills to begin creating your own pyrography pieces. Whether you are a beginner or have some experience, this class is designed to inspire creativity and help you connect with this timeless craft. By the end of the session, you’ll be ready to take home your very own wood-burned creation!

Explore movement for the stage in a fun and relaxed atmosphere! In this workshop we will use rhythm and movement to create characters and dynamic spaces on stage by bringing a simple story to life using the actor tools of body, voice and imagination.

Love Letter to Lebanon is an immersive multi-sensory, multi-disciplinary workshop inviting participants to compose their personal note of adoration via movement, text, and visual imagery that will  merge into a collective embrace of Libnan together in community.

This Arabic calligraphy class will guide you through the art of beautiful writing, from the basics of strokes and letter-forms to creating your unique art piece. We will study different calligraphy fonts while focusing on one to create your masterpiece. This step-by-step workshop will walk you through the essentials of how to choose your tools (pens, ink, and paper) to how to set up your workplace while learning and creating your own art piece.

Andrea and Michelle aim to engage members of the Minnesota SWANA  and Arab American communities through a work-in-process, animation  film screening and accompanying storyboarding workshop. Both parts o the workshop will focus on migration stories, and after engaging with  Andrea Shaker’s in-progress film project, one that visualizes her ow family’s migration story along with other members of the Twin Cities  SWANA community, we’ll invite participants to tell their/their family’s  stories of national and international migration through storyboarding.

The first big wave of Arab immigrants came to the Americas one hundred years ago as a result of war and famine in the Middle East. Through interviews, research, workshop, community dialogue and staged reading, the project attempts to make connections between the past and present condition of Syrian/Lebanese immigrants in Minnesota and beyond asking, What has changed in 100 years of Syrian and Lebanese immigration to America, and what has remained the same?