Hekayah | The Story

What does ‘home’ mean to you? Your country, your city, your family? Abu Dhabi is conventionally but accurately described as melting pot of people from all over the world, and if anything NYU Abu Dhabi represents even more of a mix. Where better then to consider how we’ve all made Abu Dhabi our home in one way or another, with a lineup of poets, spoken word artists, musicians, and storytellers from diverse backgrounds and cultures coming together to celebrate UAE National Day at the ninth annual Hekayah | The Story.

This one-of-a-kind evening under the stars on The East Plaza features a lineup of performers selected by key players in cultural communities across the UAE, among them Farah Chamma, Osama Mootassem, Safeya Alblooshi, Dorian Paul Rodgers from Rooftop Rhythms, and The Arts Center’s own Bill Bragin.

The performers:

• Basma Choir “the first Arabic choir in the UAE”
• Gregory Pardlo spoken word poetry (USA)
• Jad Al Kareem Tatou music (Syria)
• Rasha Alduwaisan spoken word poetry (Kuwait)
• Rawad Raidan spoken word poetry (Lebanon)
• Salha Obaid Hassan spoken word poetry (UAE)
• Samar Abdel Jaber & Ali Zain spoken word poetry (Palestine)
• Shahad Alsaqqaf spoken word poetry (UAE)
• WYWY music (Philippines)