Jameel Arts & Health Lab launched in New York to examine role of arts in health and wellbeing 

Jameel Arts & Health Lab launched in New York to examine role of arts in health and wellbeing 
Culturunners founder Stephen Stapleton is one of the lab’s directors. (Supplied)
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Updated 02 March 2023
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Jameel Arts & Health Lab launched in New York to examine role of arts in health and wellbeing 

Jameel Arts & Health Lab launched in New York to examine role of arts in health and wellbeing 

DUBAI: The Jameel Arts & Health Lab was launched in New York on Monday, Feb. 27 as a result of agreements between the World Health Organization, the Steinhardt School at New York University, Community Jameel and Culturunners. Its aim, according to a press release, is to “coordinate and amplify scientific research into the effectiveness of the arts in improving health and wellbeing.” It is the first major arts and health initiative in the WHO’s history.  

Fady Jameel, vice chairman of Community Jameel, said in the press release: “The pivotal role of the arts in health and care continues to be highlighted through an ever-expanding body of research. We hope to … advance the integration of the arts into mainstream care.” 

The lab’s first projects include examinations of the effect music can have on mothers suffering from post-natal depression, the effectiveness of the arts in dementia care, “the potential of cultural archives in promoting post-conflict mental health recovery,” as well as coordinated international research into the how the arts can be of benefit in hospitals and care communities. 

Some of these projects will build on existing work by Jameel Arts Center and partners. The lab will assess the impact made by the Yazidi Cultural Archives, for example — a project that was launched last year on the United Nations’ Google Arts and Culture platform, which was created by Yazidi women who survived the genocide by Da’esh in Northern Iraq in 2014.  

Speaking to Arab News last year, one of the women who participated in that project, Malaeen Luqman Khalaf, who painted scenes from her time in captivity — Da’esh kidnapped and enslaved thousands of Yazidi women — and afterwards, said: “It helped me to not lose hope, to get up and to work on our culture.” 

Culturunners founder Stephen Stapleton, and one of the lab’s directors, told Arab News: “On my own journey as an artist and curator working in the Middle East in the aftermath of 9/11, I have witnessed the healing power of art, especially as a bridge between communities and across psychological and ideological borders.  

“The artists of this region are both an antenna to societal ill health and a source of healing for people suffering as a result of the conflict and uncertainty that has defined a generation,” he continued. “Through the lab, we can now try and measure the impact of these healing arts in order to scale their positive influence on our physical, mental, and social health and wellbeing.” 


Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival to take place in December 

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival to take place in December 
Updated 29 November 2023
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Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival to take place in December 

Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival to take place in December 

DUBAI: Egypt’s El Gouna Film Festival is set to take place from Dec. 14-21 after being postponed twice due to the “distressing circumstances” in Gaza, organizers announced this week. 

The sixth edition, in collaboration with the Palestinian Film Institute, will be dedicated to Palestinian cinema. 

 

 

Organizers said in a statement on Instagram that this year’s edition aims “to shed light on the current situation and inhumane conditions in Gaza.

“Additionally, a fundraising dinner is planned to gather donations for humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent during the festival.”

The event will be held without any celebrations to reaffirm its solidarity with the Palestinian people.


Review: ‘The House of the Coptic Woman’ is intelligent, complex and rich 

Review: ‘The House of the Coptic Woman’ is intelligent, complex and rich 
Updated 29 November 2023
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Review: ‘The House of the Coptic Woman’ is intelligent, complex and rich 

Review: ‘The House of the Coptic Woman’ is intelligent, complex and rich 

CHICAGO: In rural Upper Egypt, public prosecutor Nader Fayez Kamal arrives in the village of Tayea, where tension is high between Coptic and Muslim communities in award-winning novelist and legal scholar Ashraf El-Ashmawi’s novel, “The House of the Coptic Woman.” Beginning a new job as a deputy public prosecutor on the outskirts of town, Nader must navigate a tricky post with complicated relationships between people and the land they live on. Translated into English by Peter Daniel, Nader finds life away from Cairo more complex than he had hoped for, but faces it with a strong legal mind and a penchant for solving mysteries. 

On the night Nader arrives at the rest house to begin his new job, he meets a caretaker named Ramses who tells him that the lodge was originally built by a British irrigation engineer who was in charge of northern Upper Egypt before he was murdered in the 1940s. From that event, history changed the face of the village which by 1952, after the Egyptian revolution, changes its name to Tayea after the mayor. With a history of religious tension, Nader isn’t prepared for what’s about to happen. Coinciding with his arrival is the appearance of a young woman named Hoda who appears in the middle of the night with a secret that will change her life and that of those around her.  

With an atmosphere that is foreboding, El-Ashmawi’s incredible storytelling sets the mood as the novel shifts between Nader and Hoda. Between the divisive village life, arson attacks, murders that are never solved, and mysterious land acquisitions and sales, Nader and Hoda are thrown into a world where they are forced to tread carefully. Nader has a knack for stepping on toes but has to learn the hard way that the path to justice and peace can be messy.   

Setting a tone that is intelligent, complex, deceptive, and rich, El-Ashmawi’s novel encompasses sectarian strife and a debate about justice. There are laws that penalize for small offences and others in which the punishment is far less than the offense. In a place where justice is more concerned with politics, the protagonists will find themselves facing decisions that could alter their lives forever. 


Cynthia Nixon starts hunger strike to demand ceasefire in Gaza

Cynthia Nixon starts hunger strike to demand ceasefire in Gaza
Updated 29 November 2023
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Cynthia Nixon starts hunger strike to demand ceasefire in Gaza

Cynthia Nixon starts hunger strike to demand ceasefire in Gaza

DUBAI: US actress Cynthia Nixon on Monday began a hunger strike outside the White House to demand that US president Joe Biden call for a ceasefire in Gaza. 

According to Sky News, the “Sex And The City” actress said: “I am sick and tired of people explaining away by saying that civilian casualties are a routine toll of war. There is nothing routine about these figures. There is noting routine about these deaths.

“I would like to make a personal plea to a president who has, himself, experienced such devastating personal loss, to connect with that empathy for which he is so well known and to look at the children of Gaza and imagine that they were his children,” she said. 

Nixon will end her strike on Tuesday to return to New York for work commitments.

The star is joined by five politicians in the US: Delaware state representative Madinah Wilson-Anton, New York representative Zohran Mamdani, Oklahoma representative Mauree Turner, Virginia representative Sam Rasoul and Michigan representative Abraham Aiyash.
 


Metallica to perform in Riyadh in December

Metallica to perform in Riyadh in December
Updated 28 November 2023
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Metallica to perform in Riyadh in December

Metallica to perform in Riyadh in December

DUBAI: US metal band Metallica is set to perform in Saudi Arabia for the first time in December at the Kingdom’s much-anticipated music festival Soundstorm by MDLBeast.

The group’s gig will be in Riyadh on Dec. 14, the first night of the three-day event.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Metallica (@metallica)

The festival is also hosting international stars including Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, Her, Tiesto, David Guetta, Black Eyed Peas, J Balvin and Anne-Marie.

Some of the Arab stars who will hit the stage include Elissa, Mahmoud El-Esseily, Hakeem, Majid Al-Mohandis, Mohamed Ramadan, Omaima Taleb, Rabeh Saqr, Dalia Mubarak, Ruby, Nancy Ajram, Ramy Sabry, Ahmed Saad, Hamid El-Shari and more.

The festival is yet to announce more international and regional artists taking part in this year’s edition.

Metallica’s Saudi show is part of the group’s M72 World Tour.


Naomi Campbell, Georgina Rodriguez spotted in Abu Dhabi

Naomi Campbell, Georgina Rodriguez spotted in Abu Dhabi
Updated 28 November 2023
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Naomi Campbell, Georgina Rodriguez spotted in Abu Dhabi

Naomi Campbell, Georgina Rodriguez spotted in Abu Dhabi

DUBAI: A long list of celebrities, including Naomi Campbell, Georgina Rodriguez, Priyanka Chopra, Irina Shayk, Chris and Liam Hemsworth, were spotted in the UAE this week attending the annual Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The A-list stars attended the final day of the Formula One race, which saw Max Verstappen take pole position for the season-ending event at the Yas Marina circuit.

Argentine model Rodriguez, who is Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner, attended the race with her son Mateo. She wore a strapless denim dress and a pale blue sweater draped around her shoulders.

“What a lovely day,” she captioned her picture with Mateo at the event.

Meanwhile, Campbell donned an oversized white printed dress, cinched at the waist with a corset-style belt.

Bollywood actress Chopra opted for a black and pink dress with matching tights and black sunglasses.