Twenty-Five Year Gala
October 25, 2024 at 6pm
Paikka, 550 Vandalia Street, Suite 165, Saint Paul, MN 55114
Join us for Mizna’s 25th Anniversary Gala, an evening dedicated to marking this important milestone and honoring the resilience and activism of Arab and SWANA creatives. Our theme this year is inspired by the Arabic word “mizna” meaning “a rain-bearing cloud,” evoking imagery of transformation, renewal, and togetherness.
Clouds symbolize both revelation and concealment, stretching across the sky to reveal the present and hint at future possibilities. They shield us from the sun’s intensity and carry the promise of revitalizing rain. As a rain-bearing cloud, Mizna promises a space for collective gathering, communal relief, and resilience.
Imagine an ethereal night among the clouds, suffused with creative integrity and political values, celebrating our multifaceted cultures. We will begin with a cocktail reception to foster connection and continue the evening with an inspiring program grounded in community and solidarity. Dinner will feature flavors from the SWANA region.
Tickets
Table: $1200
Invite 8 guests and name your table. Limited quantity available!
General Admission: $150, includes a free drink
Cloud discount: $75
If you would like to attend the gala but can’t afford a General Admission ticket, please email mizna@mizna.org for a discount code to buy a General Admissions ticket at a discounted price. Quantities are limited.
The 2024 Twin Cities Arab Film Festival takes place September 25–29, 2024 at the Main Cinema in Minneapolis, with special screenings, workshops, and discussions across the Twin Cities. This special offer is only available through September 24, 2024. Learn more about the festival
Pay it forward: Consider paying for another community member’s ticket to attend the gala by selecting a “Pay it forward” option.
Today, our community faces an urgent reality. Gaza undergoes ongoing genocide, and the war in Sudan has created the largest humanitarian crisis in the world; in the US and Europe, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, anti-Zionist comrades, and artists confront discrimination and censorship for expressing solidarity with Palestine. Mizna aims to adapt and actionably respond not only to our community’s needs but also to the state of the world.
It is not a small achievement to reach 25 years as a values-driven arts organization. Together, let’s reaffirm our commitment to nurturing an unburdened space for artists, filmmakers, and writers to create and share work on their terms. Let us commemorate 25 years of Mizna’s enduring influence in the cultural landscape, like a steadfast cloud in the sky.
Lineup
6pm: Cocktail reception and silent auction
7pm: Dinner and programming
8pm: Live auction to fund our future
Program Highlights
Keynote Speaker: Rashid Khalidi
Mizna is thrilled to announce that renowned Palestinian historian and author Rashid Khalidi will give the keynote address at our 25th Anniversary Gala!
Performance: Body Watani
The Palestinian American dance duo, Leila and Noelle Awadallah.
Guest Speaker: Yahya Ashour
Gazan poet and Mizna fellow
Live Reading: Mizna Writing Collective
A special live reading from members of our local writing collective.
Gala Sponsors
We are thrilled to announce that The Whiting Foundation has generously offered to match donations from individuals given in calendar year 2024 in connection to Mizna’s 25th Anniversary, including donations made in connection to the fall gala and any ensuing fundraising outreach highlighting the anniversary. The total award is up to $20,000, and they will match funds 1:1. Help us meet our goal and invest in another 25 years of Mizna.
Sponsor the Gala
Help us continue our important work for another 25 years. We rely on the support of local businesses and community groups. With your sponsorship, your organization will reach Mizna’s established audience, a diverse group committed to social justice and the arts, and many other benefits outlined further.
Check out the full sponsorship package with our audience statistics here.
About the speakers and performers
Keynote Speaker
Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies. He received a B.A. from Yale University in 1970, and a D.Phil. from Oxford University in 1974. He has taught at the Lebanese University, the American University of Beirut, and at the University of Chicago. He is a past President of the Middle East Studies Association, served as editor and co-editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and was an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from October 1991 until June 1993. He is the author of The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 [2020]; Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. has Undermined Peace in the Middle East [2013]; Sowing Crisis: American Dominance and the Cold War in the Middle East [2009]; The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood [2006]; Resurrecting Empire: Western Footprints and America’s Perilous Path in the Middle East [2004]; Palestinian Identity: The Construction of Modern National Consciousness [1997; 2 nd ed. 2010]; Under Siege: PLO Decision-making during the 1982 War [1986; 2 nd ed. 2014]; and British Policy towards Syria and Palestine, 1906-1914 [1980]. He has written over 120 scholarly articles, and is the co-editor of Palestine and the Gulf [1982]; The Origins of Arab Nationalism [1991]; and The Other Jerusalem: Rethinking the History of the Sacred City [2020].
Performers
Body Watani Dance is a space to research, investigate and create performances from an embodied relation with ‘watan’ or the homeland inside our bodies while centering Palestine through a Palestinian diasporic lens. It is the artistic project of two Palestinian American sisters based in Minneapolis, Mni Sota Makoce: Leila and Noelle Awadallah. Beyond creating performances for the stage, they also hold dance workshops across communities that engage participants in movement practices to embody collective folk, grief, and rage rituals.
Guest Speaker
Yahya Ashour | يحيى عاشور is an exiled Gazan poet and awarded author, born on April 22, 1998, based in the US. He is an honorary fellow at the University of Iowa and the author of the e-book “A Gaza of Siege & Genocide” (Mizna, 2024). Ashour’s portfolio also includes poetry collections, children’s books in Arabic, and contributions to global anthologies and journals, including MQR and ArabLit. He has received multiple scholarships and fellowships and has read poetry at over 50 U.S. organizations and universities, including Princeton, Stanford, UPenn, and UCLA. His poetry has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, French, Japanese, and Bengali. Ashour studied Sociology & Psychology and worked as a creative writing mentor.