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Sandra Saenz joins us to talk about the art of makeup, navigating the world of beauty as a Mexican Muslim, and her first video art exhibition.She is the first Mexican hijabi makeup artist to secure agency representation in the USA. Her work has been featured in magazines and advertisements worldwide for Sephora. She's currently a Global Brand Ambassador for KVD Beauty.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Photographer Hassan Hajjaj has an iconic style that blends elements of pop art, hip hop culture and North African fashion. It spans series like Kesh Angels, which depicts biker women in Marakesh, as well as celebrity photoshoots and album art. He joins AR to talk about developing his unique style, his initial reluctance to call himself an artist, and how he's seen the photography world change for the next generation.    See more of Hassan Hajjaj's work here: https://www.193gallery.com/artists/84-hassan-hajjaj/overview/   Or on his Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/hassanhajjaj_larache/?hl=en   If you enjoyed this episode and want to learn more, go to agakhanmuseum.org/thisbeinghuman   The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Egyptian artist Wael Shawky explores the connections between history and myth. His work includes installations and sculpture, as well as films like Cabaret Crusades and I Am Hymns of the New Temple, which use marionettes to revisit big moments in history from a new perspective.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shezad Dawood is a multidisciplinary artist whose work blends stories, reality and symbolism to engage with big questions about humanity, and explore alternative futures.He speaks to AR about his latest project, Night in the Garden of Love, an immersive experience that uses virtual reality to bring visitors into a fantastical world. It's based on a science fiction novella of the same name by the late musician and polymath Yusef Lateef. Shezad talks about Lateef's unique view of the world, collaborating with an artist who he never met, and his own lifelong discomfort with choosing an artistic medium.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marina Tabassum is a Bangladeshi architect whose work includes Bangladesh's underground Museum of Independence and the award-winning Bait Ur Rouf mosque. She talks about working with local materials, the rich landscape of Bangladesh's capital city, Dhaka, and how architects should embrace social responsibility, as with her $200 houses for displaced Bangladeshis.Marina Tabassum is the founder of Marina Tabassum Architects and the academic director of the Bengal Institute for Architecture, Landscapes and Settlements.This episode originally aired in November, 2021.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kameelah Janan Rasheed is an artist whose work focuses on Black knowledge production, re-shaping history, and unlearning the things we think we know. Her projects, spanning photography, installations, text, sound, and more, have been shown around the globe and earned her a 2021 Guggenheim Fellowship.She joins us to talk about resisting easy definitions, finding new ways to think about the marks that we leave on the world, and her lifelong engagement with emerging technologies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ausma Malik was the first woman in a hijab to be elected to public office in Canada, and the first Muslim-identifying, hijab-wearing woman on Toronto city council. She was recently appointed Deputy Mayor of Toronto.She also happens to be the sister of This Being Human host Abdul-Rehman Malik. In this episode, A.R. asks Ausma the questions only a brother can ask. She talks about some of the pivotal moments that sent her down her current path, her reluctant entrance to politics, and how family and art shaped her values.The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Pakistan's first female architect, Yasmeen Lari left a major imprint on the country's visual identity, with modern buildings like the Finance and Trade Centre, the Taj Mahal Hotel in Karachi, and the Pakistan State Oil Head Office. But her career later took a turn from working for the powerful few, towards assisting the most vulnerable members of society. She now focuses on the intersection of architecture, environmental activism and social justice, working to build sustainable structures for displaced people and helping to set up self-sufficient economies. She calls her approach Barefoot Social Architecture. The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There was a time in history when the entire world's coffee supply came from Yemen. But the industry went through a major decline, so that by 2013, when Yemeni-American Mokhtar Alkhanshali became obsessed with coffee, coffee from Yemen was hard to come across. Mokhtar spent three years in Yemen learning everything he could and started the company Port of Mokha to help revitalize the industry. These days, Yemeni coffee is coveted by connoisseurs, who pay top dollar for it. Mokhtar's life and journey was immortalized in the Dave Eggers book The Monk of Mokha. He talks to AR about this journey, which continues ten years on. The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Humaira Abid is an artist who works in wood sculpture and miniature painting. Her pieces, which are intricately detailed, contain strong social messages around topics like motherhood and the plight of refugees. She talks to AR about why she chose the male-dominated craft of wood sculpture to tell stories about women and about using her art to encourage conversation about taboo topics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday is a darkly funny novel about daily life during wartime. The action is not about the war itself; it's about the interpersonal relationships of a rich cast of characters living in a small town. It is the debut novel of Jamaluddin Aram, an Afghan writer currently living in Toronto. The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human. FURTHER RESOURCES: You can find links on where to buy Nothing Good Happens in Wazirabad on Wednesday here: https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Nothing-Good-Happens-in-Wazirabad-on-Wednesday/Jamaluddin-Aram/9781668009871 Watch Buzkashi Boys, a short film Jamaluddin worked on that was nominated for an Academy Award: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2sYUtzxRBQ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the award-winning podcast, King of the World, Shahjehan Khan reflects on his history with music, addiction and identity in post-9/11 America. He talks to AR about his time with the seminal Muslim punk band The Kominas, mental health, his attempt to find himself in Pakistan, and where he stands today, as an ageing punk rocker whose acting and producing career is starting to take off.The Museum wishes to thank The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation for their generous support of This Being Human. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.