Nicole and I, along with our friend Ayesha, went to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts yesterday to take in a day of the Arabesque festival currently underway through March 15th.

Among other things going on there, here’s a rundown of what we had a chance to check out:

• Brides of the Arab World: a collection of over 40 wedding dresses from all 22 countries of the Arab world conveys the diversity of tradition, meaning, and craftsmanship of the region throughout the last 200 years;
• The Conference of the Birds: a presentation of 12th century poetry utilizing the Jali Diwani style of calligraphy, along with the geometric rationale for the designs, which presents the poems in the abstract form of the birds in the poems themselves (a book of this particular artwork, by Farah K. Behbehani, is due out later this year; see Amazon);
• Desire to Take Wing: colorful, large-scale calligraphy by the artist Hassan Massoudy;
• Inspirations: a presentation of jewelry by Eqyptian designer Azza Fahmy, as inspired by the varied cultures of oases and villages throughout Egypt;
• Cinema: a photography exhibit by Egyptian photographer Youssef Nabil;
• Breaking the Veils: Women Artists from the Arab World: a small collection of paintings from the last 20 years or so;
• at the Exploratorium: a short film examining the Arab contributions to society between the 8th to the 15th centuries;
• on the Millennium Stage, Married Man on Vacation: written by Mourad Senouci, performed by Samir Bouanani, and presented by Coopérative Théâtrale Hammou Boutlélis of Algeria, a one-man show about a married man reverting to his old lifestyle when his wife is out of town;
• and finally, Roba Vecchia: by Lebanese artist and photographer Lara Baladi, this installation is a triangular tunnel of mirrors that you walk through; the artist’s own images are projected at the opposite end, constantly changing, and the overall effect is that of a kaleidoscope

All in all, I was very happy I went. My favorite parts were definitely the Roba Vecchia installation and The Conference of the Birds calligraphy… that stuff is beatuiful and definitely something to marvel at. In the end, the festival has sort of rekindled my interest/admiration for, specifically, the different calligraphy and writing styles prevalent throughout the Arab world, which I was first exposed to while studying Islamic architecture in college. The Arabesque festival runs through March 15, with daily performances on the Millennium Stage, so check it out before it’s too late. And don’t forget, the Millennium Stage productions are free!