Events
April 2016
Together with our graphic design partners AMI and the web developers Wonderweb, Mashallah News hosted an event in Geneva to celebrate the launch of the 2.0 version of our website, which had been in beta version since the summer. The event also presented ‘Language’, the third and final instalment in our storytelling series produced in collaboration with Beirut-based media collective KnoozRoom.
October 2015
Mashallah News, together with KnoozRoom, organised an event to launch our second themed series, ‘Night‘, at Onomatopoeia in Beirut. We had invited two contributing photographers to the series: Naziha Arebi from Libya, Çağlar Kanzık from Turkey, and Lebanese photographer Alia Haju, to present their work. Naziha shared stories from her work in post-Gaddafi Libya, including the one she contributed with to the series: how electricity cuts are, despite everything, bringing people closer. Çağlar spoke about his work documenting Istanbul’s drag queens and the transformative moment that takes place right before they go on stage. Alia talked about current challenges with working as a photojournalist in Beirut, and the potential of photography as a tool to document social change. Our player Mohannad Nasser performed solo before and during the talks.
December 2014
We held a book reading and photo screening at Dar Bistro & Books in Beirut, where three contributors of Beirut Re-Collected read parts of their stories and shared photos from the book. There was an open discussion on the topics covered in the book: public space and cultural spaces in Beirut, and how these have transformed over time.
Images © Karim Mostafa
May 2014
We organised a book launch in Dubai, at The Archive in Safa Park. Poets Zeina Hashem Beck and Frank Dullaghan read excerpts from the book and Sara Aridi, from the Dubai-based punk band The Gasolines, played songs.
Images © Karim Mostafa
March-April 2014
Mashallah News’ book Beirut Re-Collected is launched in Beirut, at Radio Beirut, and during the Paris book fair. The book is an anthology with 20 stories from writers in Beirut, including a foreword by Nasri Atallah. It gathers ‘forgotten’ stories from the city: tales about its people and places, things that pass by seemingly unnoticed. Beirut Re-Collected can be bought from Antoine Online in either English or French.
April 2013
We took part in a Talk20 in Beirut, where creative people and initiatives are invited to share their projects during open talks.
January 2012
To celebrate our second Best Of printed edition, we organised a debate on journalism and censorship in Iran. The talk at Le Point Éphémère in Paris brought together activist Parvin Ardalan and Thibault Lefèvre, founder of Iranian Stories.
August 2011
The first Mashallah News printed magazine, with collected stories from the online platform, was launched, alongside a DJ set, at Café Gavroche in Geneva.
July 2011
During the Alternative Media Week in Beirut, hosted by AltCity, Mashallah News co-organised a workshop dedicated to locally grounded journalism. We also held a debate about censorship and self-censorship, with journalist Rima Marrouch, author Rachid El Daif and Colette Naufal from Beirut International Film Festival.
June 2011
During one day in Istanbul, we organised a conference on the topic of Journalism and the Megalopolis, gathering researchers, artists and representatives from Turkish media. In the afternoon, the film Tehran Has No More Pomegranates was screened with the attendance of director Massoud Bakhshi. The event ended with a concert featuring Istanbul-based artists Erdem Can and Fuji Kureta.
March 2011
We presented Mashallah News at a Pecha Kucha evening in Beirut, held at the art/events space Art Lounge in Karantina.
February 2011
Three months after launching the website in November 2010, we organised the first of two Mashallah News parties, at Zico House in Beirut, with the support of several great Lebanese DJs. We were excited about the turnout: hundreds of visitors came to enjoy the live music and screened visuals.