Dec 15 • Majlis with EcoRove
The Ecodispersal Device is a part of EcoRove's ongoing project in collaboration with Marylynn Antaki, Foraging Alternative Ecosystems, which seeks to support and empower citizens with methods for rewilding and living in communion with diminished landscapes through foraging and the nurturing of biodiversity via the redeployment of indigenous, wild, edible plants. This session addresses food insecurity, wildlife depletion, and the ecological crises in Lebanon, intensified by years of economic collapse, energy insufficiency, and ongoing Zionist aggression on the peoples and territories of the Levant.
Join us for a conversation between Iyad Abou Gaida, Em Joseph, and Jumanah Abbas of EcoRove, with Marylyn Pauline Antaki, and Lara Arafeh. We will discuss their mission exploring the practices of nurturing and foraging wild edible plants as a response to food insecurity and depletion of wildlife in Lebanon caused by the collapse of economic and government systems.
EcoRove will be auctioning off one of their seed dispersal devices to donate the money to Seal. Seal work with farmers and forests to do sustainable land management. Because of war, they are also helping displaced families in Lebanon.
Included in the ticket, we’ll have some tea and biscuits as we engage with seeds native to the Levant and New York.
As an optional add on, Nafas Bakery is selling boxes of their baked goods with all proceeds going to Heal Palestine.
Iyad Abou Gaida Is a Lebanese farmer, ecological designer, architect, and researcher who has worked in offices in Tokyo, Beirut, and New York. Iyad’s research engages ecologies of human and non-human beings to address aesthetic and socio-political urgencies for ecologies, architecture, and urbanism across dimensions and geographies.
Iyad gained farming experience living on his ancestral terraced agricultural fields with his family in South Lebanon.
He received his B.Arch from the Lebanese American University and his M.S Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia GSAPP.
Em Joseph is a Lebanese-American artist, filmmaker, and educator living and working in Lenapehoking/Brooklyn. Her work follows parallel narratives shared by people and landscapes expressed through history, diaspora, and indigenous land sovereignty. Joseph has had solo exhibitions at The New Museum (2023-24) and Ortega Y Gasset Projects (2016), and group exhibitions at eyes never sleep (2023), The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts (2018), and The Jewish Museum (2017). Joseph is a Y11 New Inc. Creative Science Track member, and was a recipient of the Fine Arts Grant from The Arab Foundation for Arts & Culture in 2020 as part of her collaborative project EcoRove. She has been published in “Pre-Occupied Thoughts” (Al-Rawiya, 2024) and in The Art of Inequality (The Temple Hoyne Buell Center, 2015). Joseph received an MFA from Columbia University (2016), and a BA from Vassar College (2011). She is part-time faculty at The New School, and was previously adjunct assistant professor of photography at Columbia University.
Jumanah Abbas is an architect, writer, and curator who works on collaborative projects with institutes and universities, most recently “Mapping Memories of Resistance: The Untold Story of the Occupation of the Golan Heights” with London School of Economics, Birzeit University, and Al Marsad, Arab Human Rights Center in Golan Heights; and Tasmeem Biennial 2022, themed around Radical Futures, by Virginia Commonwealth University, where she was appointed to curate the biennial’s spatial design. She is currently working on the upcoming 2026 Qatar Museums’ Quadrennial project, a multi-site art exhibition.
Marylynn Pauline Antaki is a Lebanese designer and architect currently based in New York City. Her research explores architecture’s intersections with identity, data, politics, and the environment, across dierent scales and geographies. Her work has been featured amongst others at the Venice Architecture Biennale and the Tallinn Architecture Biennale. She holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the American University of Beirut, and a Master in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University. Currently at Studio Gang, her previous lives include adjunct assistant professorships at the University of Toronto and at Columbia University.
Lara Arafeh is a curator, writer, and researcher based in Brooklyn. She also serves as the director of Majlis NY, a platform dedicated to promoting cultural exchange and showcasing voices from underrepresented communities. Her research delves into decolonial methodologies, narrative history, and the intricate intersections of culture, identity, and feminism. Lara completed a curatorial fellowship at the Baltimore Museum of Art, where her research centered on contemporary Native American art and history, further expanding her expertise in global Indigenous narratives.
Majlis NY is a platform that promotes cultural exchange and showcases diverse voices from the Middle East/SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa). Its initiatives foster connections and conversations by bringing thought-provoking speakers from various creative disciplines.
Nafas Baking is a Brooklyn-based baking project inspired by the flavors and culinary traditions of Palestine. Nafas, while translated as breath in Arabic, takes on a different meaning in the context of the kitchen: it conveys someone who loves to prepare food with intuition and soul. Nafas Baking is both a celebration of Palestine, and one woman's passion project to feed all those around her.
•
Cancellations made less than 72 prior to the workshop start date are not eligible for a refund.
Please note that all cancellations must be emailed to hello@stormbookstore.com.
Thank you for your understanding with our cancellation policy. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us.
•
SUNDAY DECEMBER 15
5:00 - 7:00 PM
Limited seated capacity
refreshments included!
We offer two pricing options:
$10 - standard ticket
$35 - ticket + box of pastries from Nafas
One box will include:
1. Saffron sugar cookie 2. sumac brownie bite 3. sage and black tea cupcake 4. za’atar focaccia (or: zaatar pastry)