On view November 15, 2025

Arab Massachusetts: Communities in the Commonwealth

Launching in November 2025, the Arab American National Museum (AANM) proudly presents the Arab Massachusetts: Communities in the Commonwealth traveling exhibit, a groundbreaking initiative that will shed light on the vibrant stories of Arab American communities in the state from the late 19th century until present day. Informed by both meticulous archival research and input from Arab Americans residing in Massachusetts, the exhibit and accompanying programming will be the first of its kind in both its scope and ambition, publicly documenting narratives from Arab Americans’ long presence in the state of Massachusetts; narratives that up until now have remained relegated to individual family histories or the confines of institutional records. In a time of rising xenophobia and nativism in this country, it is more urgent than ever to preserve these stories.

The exhibit will travel to five locations in Massachusetts: Boston, Quincy, Revere, Lawrence and Worcester and will feature narratives from both historic and current Arab American communities in each of these locations. Through oral histories, donated objects, community history workshops and a traveling exhibit, this project will uplift Arab American voices of the past and present, explore the layered tension between assimilation and the push to preserve one’s culture, examine how deindustrialization in Massachusetts affected urban Arab American populations, and ultimately celebrate the ways Arab Americans in Massachusetts have built and found strength in cross-cultural communities throughout time.