Culture Night 2022 at Comhlámh

Comhlámh and Ireland Says Welcome Group are delighted to invite you to our celebration of Culture Night 2022 from 6 – 9pm on the 23rd of September in our offices at 12 Parliament St, Dublin 2.

During the event, we will be showcasing the best of multicultural Ireland with our special guests from Sierra Leone, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan and beyond, sharing their culture and unique stories in the ever-popular Human Library. Throughout the evening our other guests will also be sharing their arts and crafts, native dance, spoken word, music and the (always popular) finger food!

We are looking forward to welcoming both returning supporters and new faces to our Multi-Cultural Culture Night celebrations at Comhlámh offices.

WHEN: Friday, 23 Sept, 6-9PM

WHERE: Comhlámh, 12 Parliament St, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, D02 HV05 (Click here for the map)
T: (01) 478 3490

NO BOOKING REQUIRED

MEET OUR CULTURE NIGHT CONTRIBUTORS

Abdulai Mansaray
Sierra Leone

My name is Abdulai Mansaray, a Law student living in Dublin, originally from Sierra Leone.

I am an asylum seeker, refugee, and migrant activist and a founder of Kingdom Heritage Foundation Sierra Leone which helps less privileged kids through advocacy and education. I am also a founder of the Richmond Court resident support group Longford which helps asylum seekers/refugees in accessing the necessary support available in Longford town. I am passionate about Law, especially Immigration and Human Rights Law. I enjoy helping young people realize their fullest potential and I am a soccer lover 😊

For the Human Library, I’d like to talk about the importance of the culture of gratitude and respect, but also about food, languages, political culture and religious tolerance.

Fatema Mohammadi
Afghanistan

My name is Fatema Mohammadi and I am from Afghanistan. I studied for my BA in English Translation Studies and I worked with international organizations and NGOs in Afghanistan supporting and promoting educational and human rights programs. After the Taliban took over Afghanistan, with the support of the Irish government, I came to Ireland and now I live in Dublin. I am teaching English to Ukrainians and studying for my MSc in Communications and Media at UCD which is an absolutely exciting experience. 

For the Human Library, I would like to talk about family culture, the main traditional and cultural festivals and traditional clothes and music.

Nazariy Hnatyuk
Ukraine

My name is Nazariy Hnatyuk, I am from Ukraine. I lived in Italy for 11 years where I graduated in Political Science. I moved to Ireland 3 years ago, and now I am working as QA Administrator in Foundry. With the beginning of the full escalation of Russian forces in Ukraine, I joined the volunteer organization UACT (Ukrainian Action in Ireland). I am looking forward to seeing you all on Friday!

I will talk about food, national clothes and traditions such as Christmas and weddings.

VISUAL ARTISTS

Sanaa El Habbash
Palestine

My name is Sanaa El Habbash and I’m a graphic designer/baker. I graduated from NCAD Dublin and completed a UX design course at Griffith College. Born to Palestinian parents, I am the second youngest of 9 siblings. I have always been interested in art, and my parents have always motivated me to pursue a career I’m passionate about. My work has allowed me to learn so much about the world around me, my family, and my culture, whilst also allowing me to meet some amazing people. 

Many of my cultural works are based around interviews with the Palestinian diaspora, and combine food and art to recall memories of better times, family events and life-changing moments.

Pictured: Patches of Palestine

Lamia Tadjine
Algeria

Lamia Tadjine is an emerging Irish-Algerian visual artist from Dublin. Her work primarily explores her bi-cultural identity and attempts to reproduce and share the feelings brought on by her culturally blended upbringing. Themes of loss, longing, and uncertainty recur throughout her work, as she presents her experiences on matters of identity. 

Tadjine has had her work exhibited at the Trinity Arts Festival and by the non-profit arts organization, Dublin Modular. 

Video ‘Kan Yama Kan’ (‘Once Upon a Time’).  Duration: 2 minutes, 55 seconds.

Kan Yama Kan is an expression of the artist’s female relationships and the stories about her family that she has inherited from her mother. It attempts to come to terms with the harsh history of the women’s rights movement in Algeria, and uses archive footage from that time to express the feelings of closeness and distance that Tadjine often experiences towards these stories. Having her hair done by her sister is an allegory for the ritual of sharing intimate stories about the struggles her female family members had to endure during their fight for equality.

Barialai Khoshhal
Afghanistan

Barialai is a professional photographer with eight years of experience as a photographer, photojournalist and videographer. His works have been published in AP, BBC, ITV London, Aljazeera English and The Diplomat Magazine.

He took a Professional Photography course in US Embassy in 2017 and won the UNSECO photo competition in Afghanistan in 2017. He had group photo exhibitions in US and Canadian Embassies in Kabul, New York, Canada, Paris, Jakarta Oslo, Tehran and recently in Dublin.

He is an Artist in Residence in Photo Museum Ireland, won an award on Business to Arts, an award from Create – Arts council Research grant 2022.

He took some short- and long-term journalism workshops and studied web development for two years from 2016-2018.

Barialai is interested in computing, business, photography, visual media and journalism.

You can visit his portfolio here: www.barialaiakhoshhal.com

SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS

Mimmie Malaba
Zimbabwe

Mimmie is a 23 year old student, business owner and poet. She has performed her spoken word pieces in Dublin and the surrounding area in venues and at events such as Workman’s Club and Electric Picnic. Her most popular poem ‘Mother Tongue’ has been included in two publications.

Charlotte Kefeletswe
Botswana

Charlotte is a Motswana artist currently living in Athlone. An Economics & Psychology graduate from the University of Botswana she currently works locally while pursuing further study and creative outlets. She has a passion for spoken word and Culture Night 2022 will be her debut live performance.