A staunch champion of Arab women artists, Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, founder of Barjeel Art Foundation, curates for Vogue Arabia the modernists who have left an indelible mark on the region and the worldMore

London-based Al Saqi Books, Europe’s largest specialist bookseller for publications from the Middle East, has been forced to close because of the hike in prices of Arabic-language books and because Brexit has been "detrimental" to businessMore

Right now, there is a crisis in American belly dancing: highest on the list is the question of cultural appropriation and whether Americans – particularly white Americans – should perform this Middle Eastern dance form at all.More

A virtual gallery containing thousands of Mali's ancient documents has been launched. The gallery contains up to 40 thousand documents written in ancient Arabic that have been digitised and made available online.More

Since the Islamic Revolution, film culture in Iran has changed: from state propaganda films of the Khomeini era to socially critical productions today. We illuminate the facets of Iranian cinema and its resonance in the West.More

Organisers of the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation have announced this year’s shortlist. Three translators have made the shortlist for the first time in 2021: Sarah Enany (for Rasha Adly’s 'The Girl with the Braided Hair'), Sawad Hussain (for Shahla Ujayli’s 'A Bed for the King’s Daughter'), and Elisabeth Jaquette (for Dima Wannous’ 'The Frightened Ones').More

What’s the difference between an assassination and an execution? This is the headache of a question facing Lebanese; it existed before Lokman Slim was killed, and it looks likely to preoccupy people for a long while to come. The question goes to the heart of the cultural scene and the intellectuals in Lebanon, Egypt and the Arab Levant.More

The Living Arabic Project, created by Hossam Abouzahr, is home to the first online, multi-dialect Arabic dictionary – app or desktop version – that focuses on practical usage and can be searched in Arabic and English.More

Tea is a mainstay of popular culture across the Middle East, from Morocco to Qatar. Tucked away in Tehran's Grand Bazaar is arguably the world's tiniest tea shop. The owner's signature brew – "the tea of kndness" – is just one of the many treats awaiting discoveryMore

Four centuries ago, mighty crosscurrents of religion and culture flowed into a new Indian art. It was courtly and refined, but also eye-poppingly luxuriant.More

A decade after the revolutions, Joseph Fahim looks at how filmmakers reacted to the seismic events – and asks whether the real story of the uprisings is yet to be told.More