Join Me and Meghan Daum for an Arts + Ideas Retreat?

Take our survey and tell us more...

Me taking an Egyptian dance workshop in Montreal, Quebec

Me performing a traditional Iraqi dance at a Cultural Festival in Houston, TX

Are the arts a forgotten casualty of the culture wars? We are all battle-weary from the conflict between woke and anti-woke - not to mention the tension between the literal and metaphorical. For all the concern about censorship, the arts have largely been left out of the free speech conversation.

Meghan Daum and I recently started commiserating together about the almost non-existent role of art in our intellectual circles, in the gender debates, and in much of the cultural commentary. Meghan, of course, is a brilliant writer known for The Problem with Everything and her essay collection, The Unspeakable among several other works. She’s also the host of The Unspeakable Podcast and runs The Unspeakeasy, a “heterodox” community for women.

And as many of you may know, I have a background in Middle Eastern dance and I come from a long line of visual artists within my family, including cartoonists, interior designers and painters. My mother, while pregnant with me, was the director and lead choreographer of an Egyptian folklore dance troupe in Montreal in the 80’s, so technically, I was dancing before my feet even hit the ground. The arts are deeply woven into my DNA.

Meghan and I first met when she interviewed me on one of her early episodes of The Unspeakable Podcast, and we’ve developed a friendship since. She also came on GWL to talk about her Unspeakeasy retreats, which she calls “sanity spas” and “a mini-vacation for the mind.” Stella and I were enthralled to hear about these no-phone, off-the-record gatherings where intelligent and curious women (and men, in the co-ed events) have a chance to discuss some of the most interesting ideas of our time.

Parents of gender-questioning children who have attended in-person events through Wider Lens Consulting will know the feeling of speaking their minds in the presence of others, maybe for the first time. This is possible when everyone in the environment has shared the same pain and worry about their own child’s future. I’ve witnessed how powerful it can be when people can finally speak openly about matters of such consequence.

So Meghan and I have both run in-person events where attendees have felt free to express their real thoughts about political, cultural, and medical issues. But where are the artists? Where are the art patrons? Where are the eccentric creatives? Is there a place to discuss what has happened to the arts?

Maybe it’s time for an event about art and the humanities.

Meghan and I are hoping to bring people together to discuss what the arts and humanities (visual art, theater, film, music, dance, literature, philosophy, etc) mean today, why they still matter, and whether they need to be saved from ideological capture. This retreat would include guests across a broad range of genres and feature performances, workshops, discussions, and lots of time to forge new connections. This is for artists, non-artists, patrons of the arts and anyone wondering why something they once cared so much about has suddenly become so dull. 

Will you please take this survey so that Meghan and I can hear more about your interest in joining us?