Photo gallery Celebrating MENA Heritage Month
The wide-ranging cultures of the Middle East and North Africa were celebrated in many forms at the “Night at the Bazaar” kickoff event for MENA (Middle Eastern North African) Heritage Month on March 1 at the Red Gym. The event featured cultural clothing, live music, food from across the region, and activities including henna, tatreez embroidery, calligraphy, and glass mosaics. The event was organized by students who are members of the MENA Heritage Month Planning Collective. About 300 attendees, including community members and families, partook in the night’s festivities.
At left, Badger parent Hana Altabbaa shows students Mareme Nbiaye, Zoe Elko and Rebecca Wright techniques for traditional Palestinian embroidery known as tatreez. Attendees were able to display their finished embroidery on a button to take home. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Night at the Bazaar on March 1 marked the official start to MENA Heritage Month. The event featured cultural clothing, live music, food from across the region and activities including henna, tatreez embroidery, calligraphy and glass mosaics. At right, Jumana Tanner, member of the planning collective for Middle Eastern North African Heritage Month, speaks to Zaynab Yardim, graduate student, at a country table hosted by the Madison Association of Turkish Students. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
From left to right are members of the musical group Shaamfali: Jared Morningstar on flute, Mason Zantow on oud (stringed instrument), and Doug Peterson on bendir (wooden-frame drum). Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Clockwise from bottom center, undergraduates Brook Patterson, Mia Villaron, Stefanny Anguiano, Maryam Khan, Holy Din, Eva Nguyen and Biak Tial take photos of their hands sporting freshly painted henna designs. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Students who are members of the MENAHM Collective pose for a selfie. (L-R: Lena Mahmoud, Lojain Adly, Ece Kilic, Yusra Houidi, Rojaan Koupaei-Abyazani, Dima Hamdan, Dana Tabaza, Maha Mustafa, Aya Koji, Azza Bayoudh, and Lina Zehra Raouf.) Dana Tabaza, MENA programming intern said, “MENAHM is more than just a celebration of our beautiful heritage; it embodies a collective effort created by our student advocacy with the goal of making MENA students visible on campus. It’s an opportunity to feel like their identities are seen, worthy of celebration and a reminder that their contributions are crucial to the fabric of UW.” Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Meric Kilincci and Selenay Aydin break into an impromptu dance. Celebrating MENA Heritage Month highlights the sights and sounds during the “Night at the Bazaar” kickoff event. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Badger alumna Kate Bender along with her children, six-year-old Edie and three-year-old Cici, draw on floating paper lanterns. Bender said she brought her kids to this event to introduce them to different cultures. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Maha Mustafa, MENA Heritage Month Planning Collective member, paints designs in henna on Chidera Omejata’s hand. Omejata learned about the event because a friend sent her a flyer. She had her name written in Arabic, and she “thought that was really cool.” After observing henna artists at Palestinian weddings, Maha taught herself the art of henna drawing, and has been practicing it for 12 years. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
From left to right Lily Darraf, Badger parent, and her friend Hannah Ayadeh pose in a photo booth. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Students Muaz Salem, Ahmed Saeed (MENAHMPC member), Hisham Abbas, and Mohammud Ibrahim (MENAHMPC member) pose for a group photo. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
From left to right, Badger parent Nawar Elhassan and her friend Soulafa Mohamed make glass mosaics. Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Students who are members of the MENA Heritage Month Planning Collective pose for a group photo. Front row, L-R: Lena Mahmoud, Lojain Adly, Yusra Houidi, Dima Hamdan, Dana Tabaza (chair), Mohammud Ibrahim, Ibrahim Zaki, and Ahmed Saeed. Back row, L-R: Noreen Siddiqui (advisor), Jumana Tanner, Ece Kilic, Rojaan Koupaei-Abyazani, Maha Mustafa, Aya Koji, Azza Bayoudh, and Lina Zehra Raouf Photo by: Althea Dotzour
Tags: recent sightings, student affairs
