NAFS Trans+ Café is a relaxed space for trans and gender-diverse people with SWANA roots+, alongside our wider queer community, to connect, rest, and share stories.
Expect gentle conversation, tea, and snacks in a low-pressure, welcoming setting.
By registering, you help us create an accessible and safer gathering that reflects our values of solidarity, care, and cultural connection.
This space is centred around trans and non-binary people. Allies are welcome to support by purchasing a donation ticket; please come ready to listen, respect boundaries, and show up with care ❤️
Join us on April 9th at @queercircle Hosted by @rukan.ackani and @veilification
Free tickets via the link in bio.
was LIT!
@akiskaaa performing live, breaking free and owning the stage!
But outside, WWIII almost broke out with Iran tensions flaring up and my country vs my country getting heated. Flights stopped, friends stuck, Kuwait airport chaos.
It felt surreal knowing what was happening outside while we were lost in the moment. We didn't fully grasp it then, but being there made a huge difference! The support we got from everyone was amazing, this is what community feels like.
Wearing @lynnlyaung
Oh, and I made it into the last edition too lol.
💘Please welcome a new addition to the NAFS team!💘
Mahdi grew up between Kuwait and Iran before making the UK home. This has influenced how they view identity, belonging, and community as things that are always up for renegotiation and reimagination.
With a background in story writing, animation, and special effects in theatre and film, they developed an affinity for mood, atmosphere, and the details of production. This continues to influence how they design cultural spaces, with close attention to rhythm, emotion, and how experiences are built from the ground up. Studying Sustainable Development and Social Change, with a focus on NGO Management, has helped ground creativity in structure, ethics, and long-term thinking.
Their connection with Nafs is rooted in shared values and trust. From the offset, there was a clear alignment around developing SWANA+ cultural spaces that are thoughtful, engaging, and deeply community-focused.
At the centre of their practice is a commitment to creating cultural experiences that encourage presence, engagement, and genuine dialogue. Their approach is shaped by listening, collaboration, and intentional design, supporting people to reflect, connect, and grow together.
contact Mahdi on [email protected]
Welcome habibi @veilification
Towards a Global People Movement
Veil is slowly becoming more than a creative outlet. It’s evolving into a research-based movement exploring how music, emotion, and community can drive social change.
My goal is to grow into a party critic for social change, someone who studies and documents how nightlife becomes a mirror for society, and how togetherness becomes activism.
As someone with roots in the Middle East, I’ve seen how joy, art, and love are often political simply because they insist on existing. That perspective drives me to show that freedom isn’t owned by any nation, and that borders, in the deepest sense, shouldn’t exist. 🕊️
The veil stands for that too. The act of stepping beyond ego, beyond category, to remember that we’re all the same pulse underneath.
This isn’t about escaping the world; it’s about reimagining it.
I believe our generation can turn music, empathy, and movement into tools for peace — and maybe, just maybe, into a new global people movement. 🌍🩶
Why veil?
Veil began as an intersection between my academic work in social change and my lived experiences within sound culture.
It’s a project born from curiosity: how can a dancefloor become a space of dialogue, care, and transformation?
I come from a context where visibility often carries weight. That’s why I keep this project semi-anonymous. Not to hide, but to centre the message before the identity.
The veil, for me, represents humanity before all other labels. 🌍
It’s a reminder that before we are nationalities, genders, or professions. we are human.
That’s the message of Veil: to see beyond categories, beyond borders, beyond the noise that divides.
The white flag 🏳️ is the only flag I’ll ever carry. Not out of neutrality, but out of refusal.
A refusal to take sides when the only side that truly matters is human. 🕊️
This project isn’t about mystery.. it’s about intention. To protect the work, to protect the message, and to remind myself that dignity and peace are forms of resistance too.
I’m open to collaborations with anyone who believes that sound can heal, and that art can reimagine the world with empathy.
From Loneliness to Connection.
A year ago, I wouldn’t have imagined myself here, reflecting on how techno quietly reshaped my life.
It started almost by accident. While studying social change, I found myself in Georgia, surrounded by people who were using music not just to dance, but to speak.
At @basssiani , @khidiclub , and @tes_club_ , I witnessed how a club can become both a protest and a sanctuary. The energy, the politics, the unity — it made me realise that rhythm can hold meaning, and that sound can unite what language divides. 🌍
For a long time, I was lonely. I had ideas, books, and deadlines… but not many people who truly understood what I was searching for. The past year changed that.
I met people who showed me what solidarity feels like: warm, curious, and human.
Coming from an Iranian–Kuwaiti background, finding myself in these spaces felt strangely full circle as if the universe wants me to see that liberation takes many forms, and sometimes the most radical one is simply belonging. 🩶
This year wasn’t just about music. It was about healing, connection, and rediscovering hope through shared frequency.
I create to inspire, challenge, and innovate. 🏳️
Grounded in eco-friendly values and a passion for unity, every performance becomes a gentle rebellion, a collective heartbeat, a spark for transformation 🌱
