By Lily Erdogan Ten years ago, in the summer of 2012, I walked through the doors of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy behind my older brother, sister, and cousin for my first day of Al-Bustan Camp. In summers past, I had sat in the audience and watched my siblings at their end-of-camp performances. While the music,…
Diving into Zellij with Al-Bustan and Philly Magic Gardens
By Julia Yun At the PECO Family Jams Event, I was able to be a part of the artistic collaboration between Al-Bustan and Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, April 10, 2022. The participating staff and I guided visitors to take on an engaging craft, Zellij, or الزليج, a traditional art form of…
Back in the Classroom: The Joy of Al-Bustan Arts and Drumming this Fall
By: Bridget Peak After a year of remote learning, Al-Bustan’s After-School Arab Arts program returned to the classroom this past fall. While I believe that authentic connections and learning can occur over a screen, I was so excited and, admittedly, more than a bit relieved to be working in classrooms this year. If the benefit…
My Experience with Al-Bustan’s Art Classes
Hello, my name is Joy. I am an Art Therapy student at Temple University, and I spent 10 weeks volunteering with Al-Bustan in the Fall. I spent about two hours every Monday at their Hub location working closely with the art students and assisting the wonderful teaching artist Lisa. Each week students would have a…
My Experience with Al-Bustan’s Arabic Language Courses by: Sarah Rebl
Growing up in Saudi Arabia, I would often find my curiosity sparked by Arab culture. When I would leave the company compound I grew up on to go to downtown Rahima, I would see signs reading “tailor” or “jewelry” in both Arabic and English languages and I would feel thankful that there was an English translation. Due to a variety of reasons, I was unable to learn the language while living there. After returning…
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