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Borderless Oslo: Cultural evening for the Middle East

Saturday, February 1

Melahuset
7:00 P.M.

Grenseløst Oslo is back with a new cultural evening, and this time it is dedicated to parts of the Middle East!

We want to create a meeting place through cultural evening, especially for those who have stood by the ongoing genocide in the past year and those who feel affected by situations in the Middle East. The idea is to have the opportunity to lower your shoulders together for a few hours and go out with good energy! Absolutely everyone is welcome regardless of reason to this free event!

We open the doors at 7 pm.

It will be an evening filled with music and rhythms from Syria and Iraq, a history reading about what it is like to be Palestinian in Norway, dabke, an art exhibition where the proceeds will go to Lebanon, an introduction to a new yoga offer for activists and not least a DJ who will make us dance to Arabic rhythms. You don't want to miss this!

At the cultural evening you will meet: 

No name.001Ahmad Alak and Safaa Al-Saadi is responsible for the evening's musical performance. Safaa Al-Saadi is an Iraqi composer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist. He lives and works in Oslo, and creates music that is deeply rooted in traditions from Mesopotamia. Safaa has recently released his new album "Code of life". Ahmad Alak is a Syrian artist, a singer and player of the Arabic instrument, Oud, with roots deeply rooted in Sufi and classical Arabic music. 

 

Portrait of Gada Azam, wearing a Palestinian folk costume and looking directly into the camera
Photo: Grimacefoto

Gada Azam enjoys writing different types of texts. She has written several short stories about what it is like to be Palestinian in Norway. Gada is an activist, political scientist and committed to combating the dehumanization of Palestinians. Together with a friend, she is behind the Instagram account Mitt Palestina. Furthermore, she is also part of the group behind the project Tatreez and tea in Norway. The project aims to increase knowledge about Palestinian culture, embroidery and identity. Tonight she will read two of the stories.

 

Wesam Almadani with a Palestinian headscarf on his head. His face is partially hidden behind a hand.
Photo: Ludvig Gundersen

Wesam Almadani is a Palestinian ICORN writer and activist, recognized for his literary work and commitment to human rights. Almadani has published one novel and two collections of poetry, in addition to contributing to six collaborative projects with other authors. His works have been translated into several languages, including English, Norwegian, Swedish, Hebrew and Italian. With a strong focus on war, Palestinian rights, LGBTQ+ issues and women's rights, Almadani has established himself as a significant voice on these topics. Originally from Jaffa, Palestine, Almadani was born in Sudan, raised in Egypt and later moved to Gaza after the Oslo Accords.

 

Mazen is wearing glasses and looking straight into the cameraThe Maze is a Palestinian Jordanian, born to parents who were displaced Palestinians, and he came to Oslo three years ago. He has just learned dabke, at the ripe age of 40, proving that it is never too late to start, and his dance teacher was none other than Aya. This evening you will get both an introduction to dabke, but also an opportunity to freestyle and stomp your feet to show that you are still among the living.

 

8Siw Aduvill calls herself a retired circus princess, is an author, speaker and yoga teacher. Since 2008 she has taught yoga to people of different ages and in different places on the planet. She is interested in the connection between the personal and the social, and explores this in the books “Yoga när det gjelder” (Arneberg Forlag 2015) and “HVILE -alt vi vinner ved å la være” (Tiden Norsk Forlag 2019 and new edition 2023). Together with Shilpi Bhatnagar she will inform about “YogAktivist”, a new offer organized by Grenseløst Oslo and Melahuset . 

 
 
DJ Refel stands behind a mixing desk

DJ Refel is a local Oslo DJ with roots from Iraq. Since 2019, DJ Refel has been playing at the biggest clubs in Oslo, where she has had a burning passion for playing experimental sounds and music styles from south of the equator, or from the diaspora that comes from that territory. By mixing genres such as Middle Eastern Deep-House, Hiphop from Palestine, Acid-Techno from France, Egyptian Street Music, Brazilian Funk, Afro-house from SA, Syrian Dabke fusion and house music from Lebanon, she has introduced new sounds to club venues such as Kulturhuset, Youngs, Internasjonalen, Blitz, Jakob Kirke, Revolver and Café Sør, just to name a few. She will make us move boundlessly to Arabic rhythms at the cultural evening.

 

This Grenseløst Oslo cultural evening is organized in collaboration with Sociologists Against Genocide and Psychologists Against Genocide. Grenseløst Oslo is a concept run by volunteers and Melahuset , and focuses on creating meeting places in Oslo through cultural evenings, theme nights and activities.