ABOUT

DIWAN: A Forum for the Arts will be held in Dearborn, Michigan on September 19 and 20, 2025, bringing together Arab American and BIPOC artists, audiences and others from across the nation. Presented by the Arab American National Museum (AANM), DIWAN offers a platform for Arab American and BIPOC artists to connect and engage in dialogue around contemporary art and identity in America. Historically, this event has played a key role in expanding the presence of Arab American art and artists within cultural and educational spaces.

In commemoration of the Museum’s 20th anniversary, DIWAN’s guiding principle this year, “The Houses We Build for Ourselves,” reinforces AANM’s commitment to providing a cultural home for artists, creatives and researchers to exchange ideas and share their work. Program activities will include poetry and prose readings, film screenings, music performances and presentations of research surrounding social challenges. The arts and artists have always been drivers of social change, and DIWAN creates a platform for Arab American artists to reclaim narratives and foster community.

SCHEDULE

Day 1: Sept 19, 2025

9-10am
Registration, Breakfast and Opening Remarks with Diana Abouali, AANM Director.

10-11:30am
Your Favorite Artist's Favorite Artist: Mohammad Omer Khalil
Speakers: Jenna Hamed, Amina Ahmed, Isra El-beshir, and Mohammed Omer Khalil.

12-1pm
Lunch &  AANM 20th Anniversary Panel
Speakers: Diana Abouali, Jumana Salamey, Anan Ameri, Elizabeth Barrett-Sullivan, and Andrea Shaker. Moderator: Isra El-beshir

1-2pm
Photography from Yemen
Speaker: Ibi Ibrahim

2-3pm
Writing Iraq’s Wounds and Wonders
Speakers: Dr. Deborah Al-Najjar, Dunya Mikhail, Alise Alousi, and Noor Al-Samarrai.

3:30-4:30pm
Elder the Embers: Decolonizing Strategies for Resistant/Resilient Submissions
Speakers: Ahmisa Timoteo Bodhrán, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Micaela Kaibni Raen. 

4:30-6pm
Cultural Intifada! An Embodied Essay on Palestine & Performance in Diaspora
Speakers: Leila Awadallah and Mette Loulou von Kohl.

6-8pm
Al-Hadiqa Open Hours

Day 2: Sept 20, 2025

9-10am
Breakfast and Housekeeping Announcements

9:30-11am
Artistry & Resistance: Experiments in Palestinian American Dancemaking
Speakers: Wael Buhaissy, Leila Mire, PhD, Leyya Mona Tawil, and Clare Croft.

11-11:45am
Baladi Dance: From Homeland to Hafla
Speaker: Phaedra Darwish

12:45-1:30pm
The Hafsa Archive- Longing for Home
Speaker: Marah Abdel Jaber

1:30-2:30pm
Archetypal Falasteen: Tarot, Astrology and the Great Return
Speakers: Liane Al Ghusain and Lara Atallah.

2:45-3:45pm
Pressing Past: Reviving Arabic Letterpress
Speaker: Aya Krisht

4-5pm
Share-Out
Featuring: Dabke on Mars, Doris Bittar Ceasefire Now!, Mariam Bazeed, Sign-ups

5pm
Closing Remarks from Diana Abouali, AANM Director

9-11pm
Hafla!
With Stevie Soul Ansara and Tammy Lakkis

Special thanks to our sponsors