As part of the celebrations for the 49th UAE National Day, The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) hosted an eclectic lineup of poets, spoken word artists, musicians, and storytellers for the sixth annual Hekayah | The Story.
Streamed online this year, the artists explored questions such as the meaning of home, nation, belonging, family, and the city as a living, changing place. Hekayah | The Story also embraced the wider concepts of what it means to live in an interconnected world and the role that the arts and expression play during a global pandemic.
The lineup of performers was selected by key players in the cultural, poetry, arts, and writing communities across the UAE; a collaborative curatorial process that resulted in multiple viewpoints, mirroring the incredible diversity of the UAE.
The full Hekayah | The Story artist lineup featured:
– Maajed Ahmed – Calligraffiti (KSA)
– RashaAlduwaisan – Spoken word poetry (Kuwait)
– Hoor Ali Alnuaimi – Spoken word poetry (UAE)
– Mary Collins – Indie folk (USA/UAE)
– Safia Elhillo – Spoken word poetry (Sudan /USA)
– Gohary& The Band – Arabic fusion music (Egypt/UAE)
– Ian Keteku – Spoken word poetry (Ghana/Canada)
– Maryam Khalifa Alshehhi – Spoken word poetry (UAE)
– Zohab Khan – Spoken word poetry (Australia /Pakistan/UK)
– Miyamoto is Black Enough – Spoken word, alternative jazz-funk (Trinidad/USA)
– Maisoon Mubarak – Classic Arabic singing (Egypt/UAE)
