Gowanus Art Fair, Voice of America x Love, InshAllah book tour

2012 is turning out to be a busy year!

-First things first, this Saturday night in Brooklyn I’m a featured video artist at the Gowanus Art Fair thrown by  Collective BK with Lowbrow Society‘s own Gwynn Galitzer. It promises to be an unmissable night of one-act plays, local bands, visual art, burlesque, and endless surprises held at the 12,000-square-foot steel mill turned artists space, Gowanus Ballroom.

[film still from "Somewhere Elsewhere" 2011

-Second, despite multiple brushes with Voice of America Iran (I made a visit to spit-fire comedy & politics show Parazit’s live taping  & have cameo in the Mapriya Art segment)- I haven’t ever been a main subject of a piece. That is, till today! Wonderful vegan filmmaker Arash  interviewed me as part of a piece about the Love, InshAllah anthology. We drank fresh veggie juice, talked about queerness & Islam, and chatted about my story “The First Time.”

-Which leads me to….Love, InshAllah book release events on the east coast are being announced. Current dates: Harvard University (MA)/ Feb. 13th + Bluestockings Bookstore (NY)/Feb 16th. I’ll update with more info ASAP!

-Lastly, if you want a daily dose of art- I’m still updating my Tumblr with photos all the time. Happy browsing!

Publishing, Publishing: I Don’t Like Mondays & Love, Inshallah

Two new publications to announce:

First- my photo of Coco & Breezy with their new Rainy Day line sunglasses is featured with their interview on I Don’t Like Mondays- a fashion blog & site based out of New York.

Second, I’m in a brilliant anthology that’s being released Jan 24th by Soft Skull Press. My essay has to do with all my firsts- and is framed within the context of my Muslim upbringing. The anthology, “Love, Inshallah: The Secret Love Lives of American Muslim Women” is already getting incredible press & reviews from folks I admire like Reza Aslan (Tablet & Pen, No god but God), Wajahat Ali (Domestic Crusaders) and Michael Muhammed Knight (The Taqwacores). Find out more about it on the website, or pre-order a copy today!