Illustration by Jaime Lee Haddad
Congratulations on surviving September, a month that (hopefully) flushed everything that wasn't serving you out of your life. Now comes the time when you get to hold that empty space, giddy and excited about filling it back up.
Which is, as always, easier said than done. This week, our featured exhibits and activities are the perfect place for you to get started in figuring out what this new version of you likes to do.
Every Thursday, L’Orient Today, in partnership with The MYM Agenda, guides you through happenings across the Middle East that are actually worth your time.
What to do this weekend in Beirut:
In your transformation, start within, or at least take pointers from painter Georges Bassil, whose exhibition "My Own Sweet Solitude" is showing at Art on 56th in Gemmayzeh.
Bassil's paintings may first strike you as eerie and unsettling, but that may just be your own discomfort with loneliness. In reality, that feeling speaks to how emotionally charged his paintings are.
"It is within a universe steeped in solitude and silence, this chosen, sacred and precious solitude that Bassil evolves, creates, withdraws and invites the gaze to rest," writes Carla Henoud about the exhibition.
For more information, click here.
For me, Beirut's theatre community has always been one of the rare creative spaces that remain open, accepting and fun-loving. Starting this Thursday, Al Madina Theater in Hamra is launching its Michkal festival, with a wide array of plays to watch and workshops to participate in.
The beauty in theatre is that even if you have no interest in dancing or acting, it can give you body-grounding tools that could stay with you forever. Consider this your sign to broaden your horizons.
For more information, click here.
What to do this weekend in Amman:
Within that same vein, you only have until Monday to benefit from Orfali Art Center's workshop program.
Take a course on drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture and mixed media fine arts; learn the essentials, refine your artistic skills, and yes, all that is true, but it's not really the point. These courses are about discovering the enjoyment in making art, no matter your background or talent.
As the center puts it, it's about "liberating the artist within."
For more information, click here.
What to do this weekend in Cairo:
Catch the first week of painter Kinda Adly’s “Soulprint” at Safarkhan, and her bright and colorful world of Rorschach-esque canvases.
Each piece is made with emotional intensity and artistic ingenuity, where Adly transforms her personal experiences into a universal story. But really, in true ink blot fashion, it means whatever you want it to mean.
For more information, click here.
What to do this weekend in Doha:
This month at Fire Station, multimedia artist Haifa al-Khuzaie is showcasing "Threads of Memory," in which she dives into the world of handmade ceramics.
Known for her constant referencing of Qatari heritage, for this installation, she chose ceramics to recreate patterns and ornamentation found in local fashion, jewelry and textiles. She is modernizing her heritage that she keeps close to her heart and identity, in a way that allows it to grow with her.
For more information, click here.
Didn't find what you were looking for? Stay up to date with all these events and more everywhere in the Arab world through the Mym Agenda, available on our website here.
