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The Queer Arabs Posts

Episode 135 [in English]: Mint + Laurel

Published October 31, 2020

We talked to Kinda Hibrawi, one of the founders of Mint + Laurel, a lifestyle brand focused on products from or inspired by the Middle East.  Kinda, who is Syrian-American and from Aleppo, started Mint + Laurel along with Mai Barazi and Rama Chakaki.  Mint + Laurel focuses on transparency and sustainability, collaborating with independent artisans, small artisan groups, non-profits and local social enterprises internationally.  We talked to Kinda about the story behind Mint + Laurel, the social impact this new organization has already had, the meaning behind the products, and more.
To see the amazing textiles, soaps, and more, visit https://www.mintandlaurel.com/

Follow mintandlaurel on Instagram!

Check out the Amereeka collection:  https://www.mintandlaurel.com/specialty-gifts/amereeka-1-m8dzf 

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Episode 134 [in English]: Esraa Warda & Mark Balahadia on Cultural Appropriation

Published October 23, 2020

Esraa Warda is a performance and teaching artist that preserves and transmits traditional Moroccan and Algerian dance forms through movement workshops and interactive performances. A young talent of Algerian origin, Warda is a community-taught dancer under the mentorship of women elders in her family and artists from Morocco and Algeria.  She is a firm advocate in the power of intergenerational transmission, women-led traditions, and decolonizing euro-centricity, Orientalism, and oppressed bodies in dance.

Mark Balahadia is a Filipino American dancer specializing in the dances of Iraq and the Khaleej).  Check out his earlier episode published on July 10!  

For this episode, we were joined by Esraa and Mark to discuss ways of pushing back against cultural appropriation in dance, about ways of engaging in dance forms in a way that is respectful to the culture from which they stem, and we got to hear about each of their own dance careers.

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