{"id":135006,"date":"2026-02-16T11:30:28","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/135006\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:30:28","slug":"queer-arab-art-in-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/135006\/","title":{"rendered":"Queer Arab Art in Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                <a class=\"gh-article-tag\" href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/tag\/daily-newsletter\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Daily Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"gh-article-excerpt is-body\"> A Texas university shutters a show critiquing ICE, a medievalist\u2019s ode to a 15th-century Black angel, and \u201cPonyo\u201d arrives in LA.<\/p>\n<p>                            <a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/author\/hyperallergic\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n                                <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-profile-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/hyperallergic-favicon-d-blank-r-g-s-500.png\" alt=\"Hyperallergic\"\/><br \/>\n                            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Winking mother-of-pearl and exuberant paintings dot the walls of a show in Manhattan celebrating work by queer Palestinian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Egyptian artists \u2014 aptly titled after the Arabic preposition meaning &#8220;of us\u201d or \u201cfrom us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar spoke with some of the artists about the exhibition, which allows them to find one another amid the weaponization and erasure of LGBTQ+ Arab identity. Elias Rischmawi described their work as a &#8220;fuck you&#8221; to assumptions about their family and queerness; their art, a deeply felt homage to lineage and love, is all the rebuttal they need.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014Lakshmi Rivera Amin, associate editor<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/queer-arab-artists-on-their-own-terms\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/minna-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\"  \/><\/a>Elias Jes\u00fas Rischmawi, \u201cTriumvirate\u201d (2023) (photo by Studio Kukla, courtesy Participant Inc.)<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/queer-arab-artists-on-their-own-terms\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Queer Arab Artists on Their Own Terms<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe show is about giving the pen back to the writer, giving the paintbrush back to the artist, during this time of genocide.&#8221; That&#8217;s artist Ridikkuluz on [minna|\u0645\u0646\u0627]of us, the exhibition they curated in Manhattan, telling Staff Reporter Rhea Nayyar that the show intentionally centers  hopeful visions of queer Arab community, intimacy, and heritage.<\/p>\n<p>News<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/defying-trumps-orders-nyc-re-raises-pride-flag-at-stonewall\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/stonewall-new-flag-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"  \/><\/a>The Pride flag re-raised at Christopher Park (photo Rhea Nayyar\/Hyperallergic)Ponyo Loves LA!<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/step-into-the-world-of-studio-ghiblis-ponyo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/ponyo-show-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\"  \/><\/a>Installation view of Studio Ghibli\u2019s PONYO (photo Matt Stromberg\/Hyperallergic)<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/step-into-the-world-of-studio-ghiblis-ponyo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Step Into the World of Studio Ghibli\u2019s Ponyo<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Fans of this beloved aquatic film loosely based on the Little Mermaid will be thrilled to learn that the beautifully animated story now has a dedicated exhibition at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles. Matt Stromberg walks us through the show&#8217;s interactive guide to the visual art and narrative charm that power the whimsy and wonder at the heart of the classic Studio Ghibli film.<\/p>\n<p>Love in the Time of Turmoil<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/all-about-love-from-a-black-medieval-angel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aurora-angel-1-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1245\" height=\"700\"  \/><\/a>Angel in Aurora consurgens (image public domain CC0 via <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Aurora_consurgens_zurich_060_f-29v-60_darkangel.jpg?ref=hyperallergic.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/all-about-love-from-a-black-medieval-angel\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">All About Love From a Black Medieval Angel<\/a><\/p>\n<p>While sifting through the pages of a 15th-century alchemical manuscript, scholar Denva Gallant came across an image that stopped her in her tracks: an angel with dark skin. She discovered that the little winged figure reflected a broader lesson about the alchemical process of transforming one&#8217;s soul that treated Blackness &#8220;not as a mirror of sin, but the ground from which love itself might take shape,&#8221; particularly during turbulent political moments.<\/p>\n<p>Butch Murphy on Gonzalo Casals and Mauricio Delfin&#8217;s &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/nyc-deserves-a-culture-commissioner-who-cares\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NYC Deserves a Culture Commissioner Who Cares<\/a>&#8220;:<\/p>\n<p>Casal and Delfin&#8217;s piece this morning writing, &#8220;improve community well-being, and create economic opportunities for all&#8221; can&#8217;t be emphasized enough. But I suspect most readers are not as &#8220;New Yorkcentric&#8221; as they, given most art is produced, displayed, and appreciated well beyond the borders of NYC. All communities need to support the arts as I believe Casal and Delfin would agree.<\/p>\n<p>Commenting privileges are reserved for paid members. <a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/membership\/#\/portal\/account\/plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"cta-link-color\">Join us today<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p>Opportunities This Month<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/opportunities-in-february-2026\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DP143102-3-1.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"  \/><\/a>Kajita Hanko, \u201cLove Letter\u201d (1906), woodblock print, ink and color on paper (image courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gift of Lincoln Kirstein, 1959)<\/p>\n<p>Residencies, fellowships, grants, open calls, and jobs from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, the Rubin Museum, and more in our <a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/opportunities-in-february-2026\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">February 2026 list of opportunities<\/a> for artists, writers, and art workers.<\/p>\n<p>From the Archive<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/tracing-queer-history-through-nyc-public-parks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sylvia-r.jpg\" class=\"kg-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1000\" height=\"645\"  \/><\/a>Sylvia Rivera at a 1970 rally for Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, which she founded with Stonewall veteran Marsha P. Johnson (photo via <a href=\"https:\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/0\/00\/STAR_Rally.jpg?ref=hyperallergic.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wikimedia Commons<\/a>)<a href=\"https:\/\/hyperallergic.com\/tracing-queer-history-through-nyc-public-parks\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tracing Queer History Through NYC\u2019s Public Parks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The green spaces that served as a refuge for historically oppressed LGBTQ+ groups are at the center of contemporary campaigns to memorialize the movement. | Maya Pontone<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Daily Newsletter A Texas university shutters a show critiquing ICE, a medievalist\u2019s ode to a 15th-century Black angel,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135007,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-135006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}