Hekayah | The Story

Hekayah | The Story brings together poets, singers, and musicians.

What does home mean to you? Your country, your city, your family, your living room? Celebrate UAE National Day with a line-up of poets, spoken word artists, musicians, and storytellers from diverse backgrounds and cultures coming together virtually for the 6th annual Hekayah | The Story.

A one-of-a-kind event that showcases the beautiful diversity of the UAE; 11 artists explore their heritages and cultural performances. Streamed online this year and hosted by Emirati spoken word artist and poet Maitha Alsuwaidi, the lineup features:

• Maajed Ahmed – Calligraffiti (KSA) – Find him on Instagram
• Rasha Alduwaisan – Poetry (Kuwait)
• Hoor Ali Alnuaimi – Poetry (UAE)
• Mary Collins – Indie folk, indie (USA/UAE) – Find her on Instagram
• Safia Elhillo – Spoken word poetry (Sudan /USA) – Check the website
• Gohary & The Band – Arabic fusion, reggae, oriental, bossa nova, reggaeton, jazz, rai, funk, flamenco (Egypt/UAE) – Find them on Instagram
• Ian Keteku – Spoken word poetry (Ghana/Canada) – Check the website
• Maryam Khalifa Alshehhi – Spoken word poetry (UAE) – Find her on Instagram
• Zohab Khan – Spoken word poetry (Australia /Pakistan/UK) – Check the website
• Miyamoto is Black Enough – Spoken word, alternative jazz-funk (Trinidad/USA) – Find them on Instagram
• Maisoon Mubarak – Classic Arabic Singing (Egypt/UAE)

The lineup of performers has been selected through a collaborative curatorial process, by key players in the cultural, poetry, arts, and writing communities across the UAE, including: Maitha AlSuwaidi, Noor Al Suwaidi, Tishani Doshi, Hanan Al Sayed Worrell, Dorian Paul Rodgers, and Bill Bragin.