Dear Cairo…my dear Cairo is a multi-media art exhibition combining photos, videos, a soundscape of Cairo, Egyptian pop music, and the reading of the children’s picture book, Egyptian Lullaby by Egyptian/American artist/children’s book author Zeena M. Pliska. The presentation is in conjunction with a photo exhibit of Cairo titled the same, currently showing at the Los Angeles Public Library Venice branch (501 S. Venice Blvd.) and at the independent bookstore, Village Well Books and Coffee (9900 Culver Blvd.) with different photos at each venue and the release of Zeena’s latest children’s picture book, Egyptian Lullaby. It is the hope of the artist/author that this installation, the photo exhibitions, and Egyptian Lullaby will normalize Arab culture for those who are unfamiliar and celebrate Arab culture with those who are to counter the demonization and frequent negative portrayals in the media.

About the artist:

Zeena M. Pliska is a kindergarten teacher by day and a children’s book author by night in Los Angeles. Her blog posts can be found on www.teachingauthors.com. Her picture book Hello Little One: A Monarch Butterfly Story (Page Street Kids) came out May 12, 2020. Egyptian Lullaby (Roaring Brook Press) was released April 18, 2023.

Zeena is drawn to stories with BIPOC protagonists and stories of social justice because of her own lived experiences both as a social justice activist and as a brown woman in the US (her mother is Filipina, and her father is Egyptian). For nearly 35 years, her activism has taken many forms both locally and globally. Her work has specifically focused on justice for Latinx and Black communities. She has participated in direct street actions, marches, protests, and demonstrations. She has acted as a legal observer for the National Lawyer’s Guild to ensure that others protesting were not silenced. She has lobbied in Sacramento and in Washington D.C. and worked on political campaigns to struggle against policies that intentionally harm BIPOC. She has worked as a community organizer, struggling for educational justice on issues that harm Brown and Black youth. And she is a proud and active member of her labor union, United Teachers of Los Angeles UTLA/CTA/NEA. As a visual artist, photographer and theater director and children’s book author, her storytelling primarily focuses on social justice issues that highlight the fact that she brings race, class, and gender/sexual orientation analysis to everything she does. Her blog posts can be found on www.teachingauthors.com. For more info, see her at www.zeenamar.com or on social media: IG @zeenamar, Twitter @zeenamar1013, Facebook Zeena M. Pliska (author) or Zeena Mar.

This event is Free & In-Person at Beyond Baroque. Masks are encouraged while inside our center.

Event attendees are expected to behave in a respectful and considerate manner while in our space. Beyond Baroque reserves the right to remove individuals from our events, virtual or otherwise, if they are not respecting the space, fellow attendees, or performers.

If you can’t join us in-person the event will be livestreamed on Beyond Baroque’s YouTube channel at the scheduled time of the event.

Because this is a free event seating is limited. Please RSVP if you are planning to attend this event. We accept walk-ins, but priority will be given to people that have registered. Limited seating is available; we recommend arriving early.