For our fourth installment of our Alt Role Model series, filmmaker and musician Nadia Shihab invited us into her home to talk about her creative process and experience in the diaspora. As someone with a background in sociology and city planning who screens awardwinning films in festivals worldwide and performing one of a kind musical esperiences, Shihab is one of our alt role models for sure! The Iraqi-Yemeni artist often returns to topics of migration, nostalgia, and alienation- things she saw her parents’ generation grapple with. Often obscured by war, dislocation, or the struggle to adapt in unfamiliar cultures, the stories of our people can be lost- Shihab’s exploration of the immigrant experience is a search for lost stories and a re-membering of origin.

Shihab speaks to this loss in the way she approaches sampling. From sourcing the Middle Eastern version of the “Sesame Street” theme song, digitizing it onto her iPhone, and sampling it until it becomes an unfamiliar reference to personal history. She sampled this theme song at the closing event of MAS#ALLAH, where the crowd became overcome by emotional and dynamic sampling and looping of obscured vocals and violin plucking. The layering of sounds struck a chord with us, and it wasn’t until the end of her piece that she revealed the origin of the song.

Nadia Shihab’s performances are ephemeral in nature- no two songs or performances are quite alike. Her constant evolution in sound and exploration keeps us paying attention to where she’ll lead us next. Watch our video interview, shot and edited beautifully by videographer Lara Sarkissian for performance footage, creative tips and a taste of what Shihab has coming up next.