São Paulo – Syrian makeup, Arab henna, perfumes and soaps will be some of the items on display in the second edition of the Cultural Asylums Fair at SESC Vila Mariana, São Paulo on Saturday (8) and Sunday (9).
Items will include African dolls, Senegalese clothes and fabrics, Syrian sweets and snacks and even Venezuelan arepas. The professionals at work will include refugees from countries like Palestine, Syria, Congo, Senegal and Serbia. According to SESC, the event is intended to encourage sharing and dialogue between different nationalities, as well as to afford visibility to the issue of asylum and to cultural productions from the refugees’ original countries.
The Syrian makeup will be handled by Yaman Saad (pictured at the beginning of this article), who’s exhibiting in the event for the second straight year. Arab henna paintings will be made by Mohamad Alsaheb of Syria. The Arab perfumes, fragrances and soaps will be supplied by Anas Adnan Obaid, also of Syria.
Besides the exhibition space, the fair will feature cultural attractions. Saturday will see an open lesson in Arab dance with the Hawara Dabke group, comprising Mohammad Al Jamal (Lebanon) and Hsan Abulla ShiHadeh (Palestine); and a musical performance with Oula Al Saghir (Syria).
The idea for this edition is also to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on December 10, 2018. The 30-article document was created after World War 2, laying down guidelines and garnering attention for human rights as universal and inalienable.
Quick facts
2nd Cultural Asylums Fair (Mostra Refúgios Culturais)
Praça de Eventos (sujeito à lotação do espaço), SESC Vila Mariana, São Paulo
Rua Pelotas, 141, Vila Mariana, São Paulo, São Paulo
December 8-9 (Sat., Sun.), noon to 6:30pm
Click here for the full program
Free admission
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
