Recent
Sahar Esfandiari
Writer
Iranian-British writer with an expertise in the Middle East and its diaspora.
Iranian-British writer with an expertise in the Middle East and its diaspora.
Recent
Being in a state of mental health 'crisis' means something different for each individual. It might look like struggling with overwhelming anxiety in the face of eviction or homelessness and not knowing who to turn to.
Sahar Esfandiari meets Sheyda, an inspiring Iranian small-business owner who took the tea rituals of her Persian heritage and grew it into a beautifully authentic brand, focusing on family, home, and exploring notions of displacement, whilst scrutinising the Western imperial tea industry.
Book Club: Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades is a vibrant, lyrical love letter to womanhood, community and culture from the perspective of women of colour.
Written by Sahar Esfandiari In 2014 Nikki Meftah and Dima Abdul Kader founded Emergeast, the first online art gallery dedicated to celebrating and supporting emerging and mid-career artists from the WANA region. At the heart of Emergeast's work is a desire to highlight authentic storytelling from the region.
While studying for her masters in Migration and Development Studies and applying for jobs in the humanitarian field, Yemeni-British singer songwriter Intibint came to the realisation that the career path she wanted to follow was in music - an unconventional decision that went against the grain of familial expectations.
From experimenting with a Twilight-inspired story featuring an ‘Iranian Bella’ in her teens to becoming a published author today, Sara is a voice for an overlooked diaspora.
A growing number of food bloggers with roots in the Middle East are unravelling misconceptions and stigma around veganism. Middle Eastern diets across the region are typically rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, but adopting a fully vegan or plant-based diet is deemed radical and out of the ordinary for most people.
Maryam Kazemzadeh is known in Iran for her groundbreaking work as a photojournalist on the frontlines of the Iran-Iraq war. Documenting the devastating eight-year war in the 1980s that left both countries deeply scarred, Kazemzadeh was the first female photojournalist in Iran and is famed for caring for injured soldiers on the frontlines as she worked.
Co-curated by Nardin Sarkis and Akadina Yadegar, the inspiration for the show stemmed from the pair's frustration over the lack of representation of modern Assyrian art in public gallery spaces in the US. " Ancient Assyrian art is frequently exhibited and celebrated, but we wanted to bring the focus to modern-day Assyrians," Sarkis told The New Arab.