Show and Tell: Fawazeer Ramadan - Nelly and Sherihan
Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi will hosting me and three other artists on Friday, April 22 for a night of a show and tell to celebrate the icons of Fawazeer Ramadan, Nelly and Sherihan. I wrote about them in 2013 and I believe it’s this blogpost that interested the programming team at Manarat Al Saadiyat to host this event.
For those who don’t know, Fawazeer Ramadan (Arabic: فوازير رمضان) was an Egyptian television show broadcast during the month of Ramadan. It involved riddles (fawazeer) presented in musical form. The show began in the 1960s on radio, and then moved to television. It lasted until the early 2010s, irregularly broadcasted in its past two decades. Many prominent Egyptian actors and entertainers presented and performed in the show.
Nelly and Sherihan are the two names most prominently associated with Fawazeer Ramadan, and the event will be a show and tell specific to the seasons starring them. We will discuss their backgrounds as actresses in cinema, their iconic status, the show’s fashion, performances, songs, set designs and more.
The presenters:
Azim Al Ghussein
Hind Mezaina
Khalid Mezaina
Lina Younes
Our talk is scheduled to take place on Friday, April 22nd between 11pm-midnight. Yes, I know, very late, but normal during Ramadan and is part of Manarat Al Saadiyat’s Ramadan Arcade.
Entry ticket price is AED 40 which gives you access to multiple activities happening on the night.
You can buy your ticket here and you can register your name for the show and tell here (please do register, so we keep track of numbers).
Important notice:
A “Green Status” in Al Hosn app or a negative PCR test valid up to 48hrs must be presented to enter Manarat Al Saadiyat.
About the presenters:
Azim Al Ghussein
Azim is the Library Coordinator at Jameel Library. His current role is centered on collection-building, management and programming within the library. He has an MFA in printmaking from VCUArts, where he also taught printmaking and DIY publishing courses.
He is interested in and creates comics, zines and other independent publications.
Azim’s previous roles included education and outreach coordinator at Tashkeel and adjunct professor as part of a residency at VCUQ.
Hind Mezaina
Hind is an artist, writer and film curator. Working primarily in analogue photography, and more recently in video, her practice delves into themes of collective memory, the notion of heritage, and depictions of Dubai and the UAE in the media.
Hind is also the founder of The Culturist blog, and the co-founder of Tea with Culture podcast. She has curated film screenings for local institutions, including Louvre Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Art Foundation, The Africa Institute, Alliance Francaise, Manarat Al Saadiyat, Jameel Arts Centre.
Khalid Mezaina
Khalid is an illustrator and textile artist. Since 2018, he has been sustaining an independent studio practice, working on client-based projects and commissions, participating in exhibitions and residencies, and teaching workshops for both children and adults.
Working within the realm of surface design and drawing, Khalid explores traditional and innovative methods to print designs and patterns onto multiple surfaces. He creates work to reach out to an audience beyond gallery walls, sharing narratives about growing up in a city that’s constantly changing. Through his works, he also shares what brings him joy – comic books, dance and music, costume and textile traditions from across the globe, and findings from his home city, Dubai.
Lina Younes
Lina is a New York based visual designer in theatre, film, animation, and installations. She is on a constant quest for story-centered collaborations, which explore narratives while showcasing process. She creates worlds with one eye shut and an index finger as her wand.
While studying for her MFA in design from NYU/Tisch, she enjoyed controlling traffic, mapping the skies, imagining the birds and inhabitants of the world in plays, dances, operas, and films.
Lina has explored puppetry and stop-motion animation in the Gulf, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and South America. Her work is about freezing moments, replaying them, changing scenarios, playing out consequences, and then repeating. Impossible things happen in an instant; objects vanish, come to life, and are set off again. In motion.