Mizna is a critical platform for contemporary literature, film, art, and cultural production centering the work of Arab and Southwest Asian and North African artists. For more than twenty years, we have been creating a decolonized cultural space to reflect the expansiveness of our community and to foster exchange, examine ideas, and engage audiences in meaningful art.
Named City Page’s Nonprofit of the Year in 2020 and a Regional Cultural Treasure in 2021, we publish Mizna, an award-winning SWANA lit and art journal; produce the Twin Cities Arab Film Festival, the largest and longest running Arab film fest in the Midwest; and offer classes, readings, performances, public art, and community events, having featured over 400 local and global writers, filmmakers, and artists.
Mizna seeks to be a local, national, and international leader in providing excellent artistic platforms for emerging and established SWANA artists, connecting their work to engaged and thoughtful audiences.
Through Mizna, audiences have the opportunity to engage in the work of Arab and Muslim artists on its own terms. And our community has a critical opportunity to see some facet of their own experience reflected on the page or the screen.
Ahmed AbdulMageed
Film Programming Coordinator
Ahmed AbdulMageed is an Egyptian-Palestinian aspiring film & media scholar. He graduated from St. Olaf College in 2020 with a … Continue reading “Ahmed AbdulMageed”
George Abraham
Executive Editor
George Abraham (they/هو) is a Palestinian American poet. Their debut poetry collection Birthright (Button Poetry, 2020) won the Arab American Book Award … Continue reading “George Abraham”
Lamia Abukhadra
Art and Communications Director
Lamia Abukhadra is the Art and Communications Director at Mizna, where she works to put filmmakers, writers, artists, and thinkers … Continue reading “Lamia Abukhadra”
Heba Y. Amin
Curator of Visual Arts
Egyptian artist and scholar Heba Y. Amin currently teaches at Bard College Berlin, is a doctorate fellow in art history … Continue reading “Heba Y. Amin”
Lana Barkawi, Ph.D., is an experienced executive and artistic director, publisher, fundraiser, curator, and leader in the field of Arab … Continue reading “Lana Barkawi”
Michelle Baroody
Film Programming Curator
Michelle Baroody holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Minnesota. Her research and teaching interests include archival … Continue reading “Michelle Baroody”
Nour Eldin Hussein
Intern
Nour Eldin Hussein is an Egyptian essayist, poet, researcher, translator, and enthusiast of the written and spoken word. He lives, … Continue reading “Nour Eldin Hussein”
Elina Katrin
Community Engagement Coordinator
Elina Katrin is the author of the poetry chapbook, If My House Has a Voice (Newfound, 2023). A Syrian-Russian immigrant, … Continue reading “Elina Katrin”
Aram Kavoossi
Literary Programs Coordinator + Assistant Editor
Aram Kavoossi is an artist, writer, and editor based in Minneapolis.
Ellina Kevorkian
Deputy Director
Ellina Kevorkian is an Armenian American artist, curator, residency director, and arts administrator whose 20-year career advocating for art and artists. … Continue reading “Ellina Kevorkian”
Dunia Khouri
Arabic Instructor
Dunia Khouri is a native Arabic speaker from Lebanon. She has lived in in Minneapolis, Minnesota for 19 years and … Continue reading “Dunia Khouri”
W.A.G.E. Certification is a national program initiated and operated by W.A.G.E. that publicly recognizes those nonprofit arts organizations demonstrating a history of, and commitment to, voluntarily paying artist fees that meet our minimum payment standards.