ArteEast

What’s on this 𝗠𝗮𝘆 with ArteEast. ✦✦ 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮, 𝟭𝟮:𝟯𝟬–𝟭:𝟯𝟬𝗽𝗺: 𝗕𝗘𝗬𝗢𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗟 𝗤𝗔𝗟𝗔𝗠: 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗥𝗘𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗕𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗜𝗡 ‘𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗥𝗜𝗔’ symposium with artist Sara Ouhaddou, and curators Rémi Homs and Lila Nazemian. Open to the public with registration. ✦✦ 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟯, 𝟭𝗽𝗺: 𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗛, 𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗔, 𝗧𝗘𝗬𝗛: 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗠𝗦 𝗕𝗬 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗝𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗢 A retrospective of early, little-known works by Iraqi-Lebanese filmmaker Parine Jaddo, restored and presented to audiences for the first time in over two decades. Across three experimental films, Jaddo entangles truth and fiction to explore cultural dissonance, estrangement, resistance, and desire. 𝗜𝗻-𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 @anthologyfilmarchives , as part of Prismatic Ground Festival 2026. Followed by a discussion with filmmaker Parine Jaddo and Nadia Shihab. Tickets: $7–15 sliding scale. ✦✦ 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟵, 𝟭𝟭𝗮𝗺: 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗥𝗜𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗟𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢𝗨𝗥 Join us for a walking tour of “Little Syria”, the first Arab neighborhood in North America, tracing the footsteps of the earliest Arab immigrants through lower Manhattan. Led by Assad Dandia, founder of New York Narratives. ✦✦ 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟲: 𝗗𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗥𝗢𝗦𝗘 / 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨: ArteEast is excited to be a partner in artist Bahar Behbahani’s 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, commissioned by the Governors Island Trust. This public art intervention takes place May 16, from 1–5 PM on Governors Island’s Liggett Terrace. Inspired by the traditions of Persian gardens, the project celebrates spring, honoring hospitality as ancestral knowledge. ArteEast will be presenting Dreamweaving, a collective performance rooted in a sensory exploration of the Damask Rose. Free with RSVP. More details coming soon! 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟭–𝟯𝟭: 𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗛, 𝗔𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗔, 𝗧𝗘𝗬𝗛: 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗝𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗼 will be screening 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲. Free / $5 suggested donation. Available worldwide. 🔗 Tickets & info in bio @pjaddo @asadfromnyc @just.lila @ouhaddou_sara @remihoms @baharbehbahani @governorsisland

As we came together for Talking Peers: Tea as Vessel, we were reminded that tea can hold so much more than what fills a cup. It can become a gesture of care, an opening, a pause, a way of being with one another. Across stories, offerings, and shared rituals, we found ourselves creating space—for listening, for connection, and for moments of presence that gently invited us to release congestion and stagnation and make room for renewal and rejuvenation. With special offerings by ACAF’s diasporic artist network—Roya Ghiasy, Zolaykha Sherzad, Emilio Rojas, Dara Hartley, ACAF curator Leeza Ahmady, and ACAF Fellow Tanasia LaBrew—the gathering unfolded through shared acts of hospitality and exchange, where vessels became carriers of memory, joy, relation, and imagination across geographies. Presented as part of Damask Rose: A Gathering, envisioned by Bahar Behbahani, we left feeling grateful for the conversations, the stillness, and the reminder that even simple rituals can create openings for transformation. Thank you to everyone who gathered with us.

Don’t forget to join us on May 16 for 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 💥 Bringing together 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗔𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗾𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗡𝗶𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶, 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶, 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗨𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗹𝘂, and 𝗛𝗿𝗮𝗴 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 for an afternoon of performance, storytelling, music, poetry, conversation, and collective reflection as part of Bahar Behbahani’s 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 on Governors Island. 🕑 Dreamweaving: 2:30–4pm 📅 Full program: May 16, 1–5pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio.

We’re honored to welcome 𝗛𝗿𝗮𝗴 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 to 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 💥 The editor-at-large and co-founder of Hyperallergic, Hrag Vartanian is an art critic, writer, curator, artist, and lecturer on contemporary art with an expertise in the intersection of art and politics. Born in Aleppo, Syria, raised in Toronto, Canada, and now based in Brooklyn, Vartanian’s work has long explored the relationship between cultural production, identity, and political imagination. In 2024, he received the Susan C. Larsen Lifetime Achievement Award for Visual Arts Writing from the Rabkin Foundation. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

Part of this year’s 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 gathering — 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗔𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗾𝗮𝗶𝗹💥 Aminah Al Huqail is a visual artist and gardener based in New York City. Her practice engages with foodways and everyday materials as regenerative systems, examining their personal resonance and place in collective histories and socio-political contexts. She runs gatherings centered around repetitive cooking tasks and craft practices that open space for conversation, then collects the organic remnants such as pods, pits, shells and skins to create handmade paper. For this Hikayat, Aminah will provide the materials for us to build prayer wreaths. A wreath marks victory over winter; it is at once a funerary object, a crown for martyrs, the departed, and those who return, as well as a protection hung at the door for what is yet to come. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

Meet poet and artist 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘀, joining us for 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 💥 Sarah Riggs is a poet and artist who has shared work widely including cinepoems, in Beirut, Tangier & Marrakech, as well as in NY where she was raised and now lives, and Paris, where she and her partner Omar Berrada met and lived for 11 years. Her poetry book Pomme & Granite, and her translation of Etel Adnan’s Time, have won prizes in the U.S. and Canada, and her most recent collection of poetry, Lines, features cover art by Sara Ouhaddou. Sarah has written a new poem “Migration of Woven Birds” in her “6x20” series to be performed polyphonically with Etel Adnan’s “Life is a Weaving”. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

Introducing 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻, one of the participants shaping 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 💥 Garine Boghossian is an architect, urbanist, and researcher based in New York. She is the founder of An Armenian Atlas / Աշխարհացոյց, an ongoing research and mapping initiative exploring Western Armenian spatial histories and cartographies. Boghossian is a Visiting Critic at Cornell University and has taught architecture and urban design at New Jersey Institute of Technology, Northeastern University, and Boston Architectural College. She holds degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and American University of Beirut. Garine works with a tradition of Armenian genocide survivor-produced mental maps to create counter-maps rooted in lived experience, memory, and survival that reopen the spatial histories and presents of the Western Armenian Homelands. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

Featured in 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶 💥 Nooshin Rostami is an artist, guide, and facilitator based in New York City and Mexico City. Their work explores time, space, and optical illusion through glass, light, shadow, and reflection, creating sculptures and installations in which clarity and uncertainty hold equal weight. Through gameful workshops and ceremonial experiences, they tend and mend collective imagination toward new worlds. Rostami has exhibited at the Queens Museum, Eyebeam, Flux Factory, and Jardines de México, and held fellowships from Art Omi, NARS Foundation, BRIC Media Arts, and UrbanGlass. Nooshin will be presenting Chess in a Round, reimagining the ancient game by dissolving its embedded binaries ; color, gender, hierarchy, and the assumption that it’s always two players competing. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

We’re excited to welcome 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗡𝗶𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶 to 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴💥 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗡𝗶𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶 is a musician and designer based in New York and Mexico, exploring sonic landscapes rooted in Iranian microtonal music through a contemporary lens. His work investigates home as an evolving, transient memory space, retelling stories of displacement through future-oriented musical styles. He releases music with international artists as Tan Haw and has performed at MoMA PS1, Symphony Space, La Bestia, Aire Libre, and Atea. Part time-keeper, part connective tissue, Mani will be playing improvised musical interludes in the tradition of Iranian classical music on the Setâr. Occasionally bringing in stanzas from Persian poetry. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

Meet one of the participants joining us for 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 — 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗨𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗹𝘂 💥 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗨𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗹𝘂 is a writer and visiting assistant professor of history at Bard College. His research focuses on the relationship between political concepts and capitalist social transformation in the late and post-Ottoman Middle East. He is currently working on a book manuscript titled 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘈𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭, an intellectual history of freedom at the historical junction of imperial dissolution and nation-making in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. For this HIKAYAT, Ali will be thinking through the aporias of the nation-state system, and the discursive and material effects of nationalism in the modern Middle East by calling attention to an entangled history of revolution and constitutionalism in the region beginning with the early 20th century. 📅 May 16, 2:30–4pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio. HIKAYAT is ArteEast’s live performance art series bringing the community together around performance and storytelling. We are excited to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s public intervention 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, on Governor’s Island.

ArteEast is proud to present 𝗛𝗜𝗞𝗔𝗬𝗔𝗧: 𝗗𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘄𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, our fifth live performance gathering, taking place on May 16 as part of Bahar Behbahani’s 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 on Governors Island. Rooted in a sensory exploration through the vessel of the Damask Rose, Dreamweaving brings together artists and special guests for a collective performance and discussion. The performance begins with a multiplayer experimental chess game that prompts participants to contemplate the SWANA region’s future amidst protracted war and genocide. Participants share prepared offerings and move into organic dialogue shaped by themes generated from the game. Rose-infused teas and sweets are served to participants and visitors alike. Each taste, voice and story weaves into a living tapestry of memory, history, and survival. With: 𝗔𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗵 𝗔𝗹 𝗛𝘂𝗾𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗶 𝗡𝗶𝗹𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗶, 𝗦𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗴𝘀, 𝗡𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝗥𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗶, 𝗔𝗹𝗶 𝗨𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗹𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗿𝗮𝗴 𝗩𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻. ArteEast is a program partner in artist Bahar Behbahani’s 𝘋𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦: 𝘈 𝘎𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨, commissioned by the Governors Island Trust and presented as part of INTERVENTIONS, #GovIslandArts’ annual multidisciplinary performance series. Inspired by the traditions of Persian gardens, the project celebrates spring and honors hospitality as ancestral knowledge. 🕑 Dreamweaving: 2:30–4pm 📅 Full program: May 16, 1–5pm 📍 Governors Island, Liggett Terrace Free with RSVP. Link in bio.

🌧️ 𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘 𝗨𝗣𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: Our Little Syria walking tour with Asad Dandia has been moved to Sunday, May 10. Only a few tickets remain! Grab yours now via the link in bio. 📅 May 10, 2026 | 11am 📍 Lower Manhattan 🎟️ $40 (link in bio) Join us on this walking tour tracing the footsteps of the first Arab immigrants and literary icons who lived in what was know as ‘Little Syria’. in lower Manhattan. Accessibility: This tour involves going up and down some steps on a pedestrian footbridge.