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Tag: swana

Episode 216 [in English]: Creators for Gaza

Published November 12, 2024

Sheyam Ghieth is an artist, organizer, Egyptian propagandist, and repeat podcast guest after 4 years! 

Sheyam is a co-founder of Creators for Gaza, a SWANA-led mutual-aid network connecting artists and amplifiers with Palestinian families facing genocide. Check it out to donate or get involved as an artist!

They also discuss their work drawing connections between disease and colonialism in genocidal states, building COVID-19 and Palestine solidarity, especially in the face of mask bans meant to attack pro-Palestine protesters. This work includes their Zine “mask up we need you” (in collaboration with @rimo_skyo).

We also talk about how we’re showing up with our communities lately, and Sheyam highlights @swanarosepdx community center as a home for the SWANA diaspora. We talk about the importance of community care *and* alone time for introverts, and the importance of taking time for trust-building in identity-based spaces.

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Episode 210 [in English]: Heterosexuals for Palestine

Published October 25, 2023

Leila Mire is a PhD candidate in Performance Studies at UC Berkeley, as well as a dancer, choreographer, organizer, and sometimes disorganized person. She researches Palestinian dance and the role of dance in US and Israeli cultural imperialism.

We discuss the misleading implications of certain “coexistence art” which locates interpersonal prejudice as the source of conflict while deliberately glossing over systemic inequality. As Leila puts it, while art can build bridges, a bridge built on uneven ground is just a dysfunctional seesaw. 

We also talk about Martha Graham, cultural appropriation as a foundation of US modern dance, the Cold War-era US State Department dance tours (that often followed a CIA coup), and how that legacy is continued by Israeli artwashing today. We also consider the hypocrisy of artists who claim their work is politically potent when applying for grants, but claim apolitical innocence when their affiliations or messaging is criticized.

Leila shouts out her dabke troupe Al-Juthoor for being an open-minded community environment and for choosing performances aligned with their political values. Leila and Nadia also talk about their personal feelings of alienation in the dance world, the subtle othering of being pushed to be a solo artist, the ridiculous economic gatekeeping for early-career dancers, and how being a leader is overrated.


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