Mizna
Mizna is a nonprofit arts organization in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1999, Mizna describes itself as "a critical platform for Arab and Southwest Asian and North African film, literature, and art." Since 1999, Mizna has published a biannual literary journal, Mizna: SWANA Literature + Art. Since 2003, Mizna has produced the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, which became annual in 2013. Throughout its history, Mizna has organized and participated in a variety of arts and cultural programming, including visual art exhibitions, community workshops, drumming and Arabic classes, and local festivals such as Northern Spark. In 2020, Mizna was named Best Nonprofit by City Pages.
History
Mizna originated in 1996 as a section in a newsletter for the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in Minnesota, where Mizna co-founder Kathy Haddad served as president of the organization's local chapter. It initially contained news of interest to Arab Americans, but gradually began to include literary works. By 1998, Mizna was incorporated as a literary journal, co-edited by Haddad and Saleh Abudayyeh. The first issue of Mizna: SWANA Literature + Art was published in January 1999.Since 1999, Mizna has presented SWANA artists across a wide range of practices, including electronic musician Hello Psychaleppo, poets Suheir Hammad and Khaled Mattawa, visual artist Fadlabi, filmmaker Annemarie Jacir, and author Randa Jarrar. In 2003 Mizna presented the first Twin Cities Arab American Film Festival. The annual festival showcases films by Arab filmmakers from Southwest Asia and North Africa as well as the diaspora.
In September 2019, Mizna presented its first major visual arts exhibition, History Is Not Here: Art and the Arab Imaginary, featuring the work of 17 SWANA artists who had appeared in Mizna's literary and culture journal, including Monira al-Qadiri, Emily Jacir, Alaa Satir, Fadlabi, and the artist duo Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme. Held at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, History Is Not Here was curated by Heba Y. Amin, Maymanah Farhat, and Mizna's visual art curator, Heba Y. Amin. Mizna received support from the Warhol Foundation for this exhibition.
''Mizna: SWANA Literature + Art''
The first issue of Mizna: SWANA Literature + Art was published in January 1999. A biannual publication, Mizna has published 38 issues over 21 years as of 2021.Over the years, more than 400 writers have been published in Mizna. Contributors include Suheir Hammad, Mahmoud Darwish, Eileen Myles, Naomi Shihab Nye, Laila Lalami, Hisham Matar, Abdifatah Shafat, Sahar Mustafah, Najla Said, Ismail Khalidi, Matthew Shenoda, Zeyn Joukhadar, Ramla Bile, Hazem Fahmy, Joe Kadi, Khaled Mattawa, Robert Farid Karimi, Zeina Hashem Beck, and Omar Sakr.
In 2019, Mizna celebrated its 20-year anniversary and published a special issue titled "Twenty Years" that included many authors who had been published in the first year of publication.
In 2021, Mizna won the CLMP Firecracker Award for Magazines.
| Volume | Issue | Theme* | Publication Date | Contributors | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | *Blank 'Theme' = unthemed | January 1999 | Joe Kadi, Saladdin Ahmed, Mohammed Almosa, Lisa Suheir Majaj, Nadia Higgins, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrãn, Kathryn Haddad, Nathalie Handal, Saleh Abudayyeh, and Adnan Shati. | |
| 1 | 2 | Spring/Summer 1999 | Pauline Kaldas, Abd al-Hayy Moore, Naomi Shihab Nye, David Williams, Nahid Khan, Suheir Hammad, Annemarie Jacir, Ziad Shaker el-Jishi, and Fawzia Reda. | ||
| 1 | 3 | 1999 | Mohja Kahf, Elmaz Abinader, Sadida Athuallah, Anna Reckin, Lisa Gizzi, Nasser Yanbeiy, Najib Ghadbian, Susan Bassam Muaddi, Alia Yunis, and Cathy Camper. | ||
| 2 | 1 | 2000 | Rawi Hage, Dima Hilal, Ibtisam Barakat, Mark Riad Mikhael, Lorie Haddad, Shareef Riad, Jalaa’ Anwar Abdelwahab, Steven Salaita, Edith Dunn, and Hend Al-Mansour. | ||
| 2 | 2 | 2000 | Sidi Benzahra, Esam Abdel Aal, Joe Kadi, Issa Boullata, Kazim Ali, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrãn, Nahid Khan, Aida Hasan, Hassan Mekouar, Youssef Rakha, and Natalia Yatsukhina. | ||
| 2 | 3 | 2000 | Zahera Saed, Amani Elkassabani, Mark Hage, Rouane Itani, Stan West, Dunya Mikhail, Lisa Adwan, Kareem Aal, Yussef El Guindi, Graydon Kouri, and Jennifer Camper. | ||
| 3 | 2 | Fall 2001 | Susan Muaddi, D.H. Melhem, Pamela Nice, Chris Ellery, Eva Elias, Edith Dunn, Ibtisam Barakat, Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil, Rima Najjar Kapitan & Steven Salaita, Kazim Ali, Lubna Warawra, and Annemarie Jacir. Visual art by Lucien Samaha. | ||
| 3 | 3 | 2001 | Yussef El Guindi, David Williams, Corey Wade, Sinan Khatib, Khaled Mattawa, Cathy Camper, Layla El-Wafi, Mohja Kahf, Cherien Dabis, Dima Hilal, and Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán. Visual art by Emily Jacir. | ||
| 4 | 1 | Summer 2002 | Nabila Assaf, David Mura, Hannah Allam, Rasha Ghappour, Rawi Hage, Lisa Suhair Majaj, Ruba Sadi, Marwa Hassoun, Esam Aal, Kathryn Buck, Rae’d Abu-Ghazaleh, Shaw J. Dallal, A.Y. May, Zahie El Kouri, and Sarah Hope Zogby. Visual art by Yasser Aggour. | ||
| 4 | 2 | Winter 2002 | Sidi Cherkawi Benzahra, Jennifer Molina Balbuena, Ghassan Ghraizi, Sura Faraj, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Katherine Glover, Robyne Robison, Nadine Al-jijakli, Ahmed Tharwat, Edward Bok Lee, Deana El-Farouki Dueno, Leah Ida Harris, R. Abusahan, and Angele Ellis. Visual art by Marwan Sahmarani. | ||
| 5 | 1 | Summer 2003 | Amani Elkassabani, D.H. Melhem, Nasreen Mohamed and Juliana Pegues, Gregory Orfalea, Sachin B. Patel, Stephen Ajay, Evelyn Alsultany, Amir Rabiyah, Wade Savitt, Nahid Khan and Ibtisam S. Barakat. Visual art by Zena el-Khalil. | ||
| 5 | 2 | Winter 2003 | Sahar Kayyal, Naomi Shihab Nye, Assef Al-Jundi, Yussef El Guindi, Tami Mohamed Brown, Leila Darabi, Raff Ellis, Nadeen Al-Jijakli, Suheir Hammad, Amira Jarmakani, Pauline Kaldas, Morad Fareed, Cathy Camper, Laila Halaby, Sidi Benzahra, Noura Erakat and Joe Kadi. Visual art by Nida Sinnokrot. | ||
| 6 | 1 | Summer 2004 | Najla Said, Nathalie Handal, Junichi P. Semitsu, Ibtisam S. Barakat, John Asfour, Brian Cronwall, Ramzi Moufarej, Myung-Hee Kim, Joe Kadi, Mohja Kahf, Iron Sheik, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Raúl Gómez Jattin, Laila Shereen, Jennifer Min Hong, Naseer H. Aruri and Paul Barrows. Visual art by Aissa Deebi. | "In Memory of Edward W. Said " | |
| 6 | 2 | Winter 2004 | R. Abusahan, Bushra Rehman, Laila Lalami, Ismail Khalidi, Mahmoud Kaabour, Barbara Bedway, Anaïs Alexandra Tekerian, D. Daryoush, Mariam Alsharif, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Gregory Orfalea, Shelley Ettinger, Anwar F. Accawi, Manel Saddique, David Williams, Ziana Qaiser-Raza and Alia Yunis. Visual art by Marya Kazoun. | ||
| 7 | 1 | Comedy and Satire | Summer 2005 | William Nour, D.H. Melhem, Bushra Rehman, Ahmed Tharwat, Jennifer Camper, Dean Obeidallah, Samir M. Nassar, Kathryn Haddad, Ibtisam Barakat, Patricia Sarrafian Ward, Rosina Hassoun, Jason Makansi, Santiago Nasar, and Yussef El Guindi. Cover art by Nic Barbeln. | |
| 7 | 2 | Winter 2005 | Angele Ellis, Mahmoud Kaabour, Zeina Azzam Seikaly, Amy E. Levine, Kathryn Kysar, Paul Kaidy Barrows, Stephen Ajay, Rasha Salti, Pauline Kaldas, Bushra Azzouz, Ali Hazzah, Assef Al-Jundi, Hedy Habra, Shahé Mankerian, Tami Mohamed Brown, Rana Abdul-Aziz and Kay Hardy Campbell. Visual art by Bashar Azzouz. | ||
| 8 | 1 | Summer 2006 | D. Daryoush, Patricia Sarrafian Ward, Brooke Anthony, Angie Chuang, Amani Elkassabani, Ismail Khalidi, Robert Booras, Philip Metres, R. Abusahan, Brian Cronwall, P.A. Pashibin, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, Habib Albi, Mazen Halabi, and Sophia Michelle Yohannes. Visual art by Hamdi Attia. | ||
| 8 | 2 | The Lebanon Issue | Winter 2006 | Fouzi Slisli, Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil, Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore, John Asfour, Alia Yunis, Junichi P. Semitsu, Tamiko Beyer, David Williams, Rewa Zeinati Choueiri, H. Palmer Hall, Andy Young, Yahia Samir Lababidi, Amy E. Levine, Dima Hilal, Rhonda Wellner Chiodo, Mary Tabakow, William Nour, Faye George, Ahmed Tharwat, Claire Zoghb and Bushra Rehman. Visual art by Mazen Kerbaj, Zena el-Khalil, Randa Mirza, Jana Traboulsi. | |
| 9 | 1 | Summer 2007 | Cécile Oumhani, Nouri Gana, Philip Metres, Ibrahim N. Abusharif, Yahia Lababidi, Nadine Khalil, Rewa Zeinati Choueiri, D. Daryoush, Sarah Husain, Sophia Michelle Yohannes, Sherene Seikaly, and 2007 Latitudes Artists: Layla Dowlatshahi, Ismail Khalidi, Taous Khazem and Jen March. Visual art by Sharif Waked. | ||
| 9 | 2 | The Family Family | Winter 2007 | Taous Khazem, Pauline Kaldas, William Nour, Badria Jazairi, Kathryn Kysar, Lisa Adwan, John Asfour, R. Abusahan, Weam Namou-Yatooma, Hedy Habra, Laila Halaby, Mary Taddia, Jen March, Marian Haddad, Teresa Whitman, and Layla Dowlatshahi. Visual art by Athir Shayota. | |
| 10 | 1 | 2008 | Niebal Atiyeh, Sham-e-Ali al-Jamil, Yussef El Guindi, Assef Al-Jundi, Robert Caisley, Beverly Monestier, Gordon Hon, Lorena Duarte, Randy Holland, Mary Barghout, Catherine Coray, Wendy Brown-Baez, Mike Rollin, Nadine Sinno and Charlotte Albrecht. Visual arts by Bashir Makhoul. | ||
| 11 | 1 | Mahmoud Darwish Memorial | 2009 | Anya Achtenberg, Hannah Lillith Assadi, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Richard Broderick, Mahmoud Darwish, May Hawas, Fady Joudah, Taous Claire Khazem, D.H. Melhem, Philip Metres, David Mura, and Gregory Orfalea. Visual art by Walid Raad. | |
| 12 | 1 | 2011 | Faisal Alahmad, Niebal Atiyeh, Mary Barghout, Susan Muaddi Darraj, D. Daryoush, Benjamin Arda Doty, Yussef El Guindi, David Jalajel, Nahid Khan, Bayan Khatib, Yahia Lababidi, Abdifatah Shafat, Mejdulene Shomali, and Helga Tawil-Souri. Visual art by Oraib Toukan. | ||
| 13 | 1 | Literature In Revolution | Summer 2012 | R. Abusahan, Maimouna Alammar, Andrea Assaf, John Asfour, Mary Barghout, Angele Ellis, Hedy Habra, Mohja Kahf, Remi Kanazi, Hassan Mekouar, Shady El Noshokaty, Dina Omar, Tasnim Qutait, Burt Ritchie, Khaldoun Samman, Leila Tayeb, and Andy Young. Visual art by Ahmed Basiony. | Guest edited by Mohammed A. Bamyeh |
| 13 | 2 | Winter 2012 | Andrea Assaf, Zeina Hashem Beck, Tami Mohamed Brown, Yahya Frederickson, Amir Hussain, Lameece Issaq, Jacob Kader, Lola Koundakjian, Yahia Lababidi, Christina Najla LaRose, Shahé Mankerian, Philip Metres, Amy Patrick Mossman, Sahar Mustafah, Glenn Shaheen, Nadine Sinno. Visual art by Ismail Al Rifai. | ||
| 14 | 1 | 2013 | Bilal Alkatout, Hala Alyan, Marguerite Dabaie, Shokry Eldaly, Yahya Frederickson, Catherine Fletcher, Layla Azmi Goushey, Yussef El Guindi, Hedy Habra, Joe Kadi, Ismail Khalidi, Shahé Mankerian, Shannon O’Neill, Joseph Rathgeber, Sagirah Shahid. Visual art by Osama Esid. | ||
| 15 | 1 | Eating the Other | Summer 2014 | R. Abusahan, Yasmine Anderson, Tim August, Mary Barghout, Dina El Dessouky, Lana Habash, Hedy Habra, Aida Hasan, Randa Jarrar, Hiba Krisht, Christina Najla LaRose, Shahé Mankerian, William Nour, Micaela Kaibni Raen, Michelle Ramadan, Joseph Rathgeber, Mejdulene B. Shomali, Donya Tag-El-Din, Priscilla Wathington. Visual art by Zineb Sedira and Raed Yassin. | Guest edited by Robert Farid Karimi and Khaldoun Samman |
| 15 | 2 | Selected Proceedings of the RAWI + Mizna Lit Gathering | Winter 2014 | Stephanie Abraham, Andrea Assaf, Hayan Charara, Carol Fadda-Conrey, Hedy Habra, Marilyn Hacker, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Amir Hussain, Randa Jarrar, Kim Jensen, Fady Joudah, Mohja Kahf, Farid Matuk, Philip Metres, Dina Omar, Deema K. Shehabi, Priscilla Wathington. Visual art by Marguerite Dabaie and Joe Namy. | |
| 16 | 1 | Summer 2015 | Rasha Abdulhadi, Reem Abu-Baker, Anwar F. Accawi, Hala Alyan, Joyce Aruri, Lauren Camp, Hasan Dudar, Angele Ellis, Hazem Fahmy, Majda Talal Gama, Layla Azmi Goushey, Amjad Hajyassin, Katheryn Kysar, Christina Najla LaRose, Zeyn Joukhadar, Ron Riekki, Mike Rollin, Donya Tag-El-Din, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. Visual art by Samia Halaby. | ||
| 16 | 2 | Intersectionality | Winter 2015 | Elmaz Abinader, Suad Ali, Andrea Assaf, Maya Beck, Jennifer Camper, R. Benedito Ferrão, Jill Hawkins, Joe Kadi, Mohja Kahf, Robert Farid Karimi, Tammy Lakkis, and Sagirah Shahid. Visual art by Shady El Noshokaty. | Guest edited by Charlotte Karem Albrecht |
| 17 | 1 | Summer 2016 | Nagat Ali, Minatullah Amer Alobaidi, Mina Attar, Shebana Coelho, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Dina El Dessouky, Dhuha Dheyya, Suheir Hammad, Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Eman Hassan, Ali Hazzah, Amir Hussain, Jazelle Jajeh, Michael Jewell, Ismail Khalidi, Tammy Lakkis, Zeyn Joukhadar, Zainab Mera, Isa Mohammed, Majid Naficy, Nicole Olweean, Heather H. Thomas, Gina Valdés, Kamelya Youssef, and Paul Zarou. Visual art by and interview with Heba Y. Amin. | ||
| 17 | 2 | The Environment Issue | Winter 2016 | Rasha Abdulhadi, Rizwan Akhtar, Suzan Boulad, Tami Mohamed Brown, Sharif Elmusa, Catherine Fletcher, Eman Hassan, Marwa Helal, Farah Kader, Joe Kadi, Dawud Mulla, Naomi Shihab Nye, Hamad Al-Rayes, Nida Sinnokrot, Moheb Soliman, and Kenny Strickland. Visual art by Monira Al Qadiri. | Guest Edited by Gary Paul Nabhan |
| 18 | 1 | Surviving | Summer 2017 | Hala Alyan, Niebal Atiyeh, Paul Kaidy Barrows, Maya Beck, Ramla Bile, Hayan Charara, Bernard Ferguson, Marion Gómez, Amjad Hajyassin, Noor Hashem, Tariq Luthun, Jess Rizkallah, Glenn Shaheen, Sagirah Shahid. Visual art from artists of the seven countries of the original Muslim Ban by Salwa Aleryani, Khaled Barakeh, Adelita Husni-Bey, Fadlabi, Ifrah Mansour, Anahita Razmi, and Walid Siti. | Guest edited by Moustafa Bayoumi |
| 18 | 2 | Winter 2017 | George Abraham, Cathy Camper, R.M.E., Mohja Kahf, Ismail Khalidi, Hassan Mekouar, Philip Metres, David Mura, Dina Omar, Michelle Ramadan, Omar Sakr, and Andrea Shaker. Visual art by Basel Abbas and Rouanne Abou-Rahme. | ||
| 19 | 1 | The Playing Field | Summer 2018 | Nabil Amra, Melika Belhaj, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Diane DeCillis, Hasan Dudar, Elisabeth Mehl Greene, Robert Farid Karimi, Taous Khazem, Laila Lalami, Junichi P. Semitsu, Mohammed Yabdri, and Zeyn Joukhadar. Visual art by Ala Younis. | Guest edited by Shireen Ahmed |
| 19 | 2 | The Palestine Issue | Winter 2018 | Hala Alyan, Najwan Darwish, Natalie Diaz, Hisham Matar, Naomi Shihab Nye, Nathalie Handal, George Abraham, Joe Sacco, Leila Abdelrazaq, Ahdaf Soueif, Eileen Myles, Marc Lamont Hill, Lina AlSharif, Janan Alexandra, Zaina Alsous, Zeina Azzam, Bryonn Bain, Jehan Bsesio, Kevin Coval, Summer Farah, Sahar Mustafah, Donal O'Kelly, Najla Said, Mandy Shunnarah, Lena Khalaaf Tuffaha, and Naomi Wallaca. Visual art by Yazan Khalili. | Guest edited by Ismail Khalidi |
| 20 | 1 | Twenty Years | Summer 2019 | Andrea Abi-Karam, Elmaz Abinader, Nour Al Ghraowi, Threa Almontaser, Aida Bardissi, Adam Benkato, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Leila Chatti, Hazem Fahmy, Hedy Habra, Kathryn Haddad, Annemarie Jacir, Joe Kadi, Mohja Kahf, Nahid Khan, Adele Ne Jame, Naomi Shihab Nye, Yara Omer, Yasmine Rukia, Samia Saliba, Therese Saliba, Sagirah Shahid, and Matthew Shenoda. Visual art by Alaa Satir. | |
| 21 | 1 | Queer + Trans Voices | Summer 2020 | Dina Abdulhadi, Rasha Abdulhadi, Kamee Abrahamian, Danielle Badra, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Michael Chang, Tarik Dobbs, Hazem Fahmy, Carissa Halston, Ghinwa Jawhari, Marlin M. Jenkins, Joe Kadi, Mena Kamel, Nour Kamel, Nihal Mubarak, Aiya Sakr, Omar Sakr, Trish Salah, Mejdulene B. Shomali, Fargo Tbakhi. Visual art by Cumaea Halim. | Guest edited by Zeyn Joukhadar |
| 21 | 2 | The Comix Issue | Winter 2021 | Tarek Abou Omar, Sarah Ahmed, Zainab Al-Shibani, Elias Bouderdaben, Ghazi Ghazal, Stephany Madi, Lena Merhej, Merieme Mesfioui, Aude Nasr, Hosam Omran, Sarah Saroufim, Enas Satir, Christian Sleiman, Stephanie Sleiman, and Helga Tawil-Souri. | Guest edited by Leila Abdelrazaq |
| 22 | 1 | Summer 2021 | Nofel, Andrea Abi-Karam, Philipe AbiYouness, leena aboutaleb, Jessica Abughattas, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Arwa Alsamarae, Yasmine Ameli, Sara Elkamel, Mariam Gomaa, Farah Hamade, Kaleem Hawa, Nour Kamel, Rania Mamoun, Yara Omer, Hassan Saby, Lubna Safi, Maya Salameh, Nardine Taleb, Alene Terzian-Zeitounian, and Sumeja Tulic. Visual art by Mohammed Melehi | Journal subheading changed from Mizna: Prose, Poetry and Art Exploring Arab America to Mizna: SWANA Literature + Art | |
| 22 | 2 | The Experimental Issue | Winter 2021 | George Abraham, Lamia Abukhadra, Mays Albaik, Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman, Darius Atefat-Peckman, Hajjar Baban, Doris Bittar, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, Mohammed el-Kurd, Tracy Fuad, David Groulx, Farah Kader, Magdeline Maher, Khashayar Mohammadi, hana roz, Yasmine Rukia, Trish Salah, Glenn Shaheen, Nadia Shihab, Fargo Tbakhi, Mohamed Tonsy, Sarah Sophia Yanni, Omar Zahzah, Issam Zineh. Interview with Solmaz Sharif. Visual art by Michael Rakowitz. | Guest edited by Tarik Dobbs |
| 23 | 1 | Tribute to Etel Adnan | Summer 2022 | Andrea Abi-Karam, Ibtisam M. Abujad, janan alexandra, Kazim Ali, Ume Ali, Joumana Altallal, Omar Berrada, Youmna Chlala, emet ezell, Jai Hamid Bashir, Malvika Jolly, Nathalie Khankan, Nicole Olweean, Andrew Riad, Abu Bakr Sadiq, Hannah Sassoon, Sagirah Shahid, Lisa Suhair Majaj, Veera Sulaiman, and Mohamed Tonsy. Interview between Marie-Nour Héchaime, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. Visual art by Etel Adnan. | |
| 23 | 2 | The Black SWANA Issue | Winter 2022 | Fahad Al-Amoudi, Salma Ali, Shams Alkamil, Ladin Awad, Lameese Badr, Romaissaa Benzizoune, Dina El Dessouky, Atheel Elmalik, k. eltinaé, Samah Fadil, Shawn Frazier, Myronn Hardy, Fatma Hassan, Asmaa Jama, Marlin M. Jenkins, Abigail Mengesha, Suzannah Mirghani, Nihal Mubarak, Umniya Najaer, Sihle Ntuli, Abu Bakr Sadiq, Sagirah Shaheed, Charif Shanahan, Najma Sharif, Faatimah Solomon, Vanessa Taylor, Qutouf Yahia, Thawrah Yousif. Interview with Charif Shanahan. Visual art by Kamala Ibrahim Ishag | Guest edited by Safia Elhillo |
| 24 | 1 | Myth and Memory | Forthcoming Summer 2023 |